Futures Past
by ArmySFC
Summary: A/U: post season 1. Doesn't follow canon. Fulcrum is on the rise all over the world. Chuck and Sarah get recruited by a team of special operatives to take down Fulcrum and it's allies. Charah from the start and loaded with hugs, kisses and sweet moments.
1. first contact

**A/N 1:** **This is a very AU story. It takes place after season 1. Events of season 2 and later may be used but may or may not happen in the order they did on the show. It is a slight cross over story merging the elements of Star Trek Voyager and Chuck. There are Characters from Star Trek Voyager in this story; however the STV universe is based on the universe used in the story "Princess" by H.W. and not the actual show. The STV universe gets explained as the story moves forward. Don't expect to see many of the STV characters in this story; they will be mostly in the first couple of chapters as they are needed for the story development. There will be mention of same sex relationships but no detailed sex scenes. There will also be some adult language in the story but not an excessive amount. My goal is to provide you the reader with some fluff, drama, suspense, action and comedy all wrapped up in one package. I extend my thanks to my Beta SeaJay28, and for insight and technical help BDaddyDL and Supesfan18. Normal disclaimers apply. A good author DaX wrote "In a Universe as large as ours, the possibilities are limitless" that applies to this story.**

**A/N 2: ****any conversations between Gabriel and Sirella in Italics are spoken in Klingon**

**11 Sept, 2008 0730 Ft Meade Md.**

General Beckman strode down the hallway towards her office, her mind going over the briefing she planned to give to Team Bartowski. Entering her office, she made her way to the coffee pot for her daily dose of caffeine. She started to pour her herself a cup when she hard a voice "General sit down and say nothing". It was by far the iciest voice she ever heard—it sent a cold shiver up her spine. Startled, she dropped her cup to the floor and whirled around to look at the intruder that had entered her office. She froze. Standing before her was a man who appeared to be no older than his early twenties. His eyes seemed to bore right through her and look deep into her soul. "I said sit down," The man reminded her, cocking his head to the right, motioning to a chair, "I mean now, General, not when it suits you."

The command in his voice sent her back to the days she spent at West Point, reminding her of her days as a Plebe. Knowing she could not win this, she sat down behind her desk. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"My name is Gabriel, but you can call me Ghost. The reason I am here is to save your sorry asses. There is something in motion here that is beyond your ability to handle. A group of rogue agents is planning something beyond your darkest fears." Was the answer the General got.

"Well, Ghost, by all means, explain." She invited.

"Have your aide cancel your appointments for today if you want your answers. This is going to take a bit."

She complied, but was stunned at the words spoken to her. She was also wondering how he got in and why he was here. She was going to get some answers one way or another, "Ghost, how did you get in here?" her voice stronger than before as her confidence started to come back.

"That General, is none of your concern. What your concern is the intersect. We have been tracking his activities for a while. The intersect missions aren't clean enough; your team leaves too many traces General. "

Unguarded fear ran through the General's veins. Someone knew about her best weapon against Fulcrum, not only that they appeared to know everything. The color had now drained from her face and her shoulders slumped.

Ghost gave a little chuckle "General there is nothing to fear from me. If I wanted them dead they would have been dead by now, if I wanted to capture them I would have captured them long ago. What I want is to work with them. Integrate into their team. But if I do so, we have to do it my way. Understand?"

"It seems like you have me at a disadvantage, so let's discuss you plan."

**Later that day at Ghost's headquarters**

"That egotistical bitch is out of her ever loving mind!" Gabriel was on a tirade, "for some Kahless be damned reason she argued with me! It took every last bit of my will power to not reach over and snap her pitiful neck." He was going to continue, but he felt the strong arms of his wife engulf him from behind and a low throaty growl, almost a purr came from her.

"Thanks Sirella I needed that" he smiled as he spun around to give her a kiss. "Anyway, it's set. Within days the intersect team will have its new marching orders. They have an op scheduled for Saturday the 20th; they're attending some kind of party involving businessmen and local politicians that are funding Fulcrum. The man in question is a sci-fi nut. We need to monitor them and make contact after it is over or if they need help. We can just transport over there the night before and stay at a hotel near the party. Then we can bring them here. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. So do I get to dress up? We should wear our battle armor." She suggested.

For her effort, Sirella got a face splitting grin and a good laugh, "That would sure shake them up!"

"Gabriel we just got the new intel from the General's briefing to her team. The party tomorrow is going to be a sci-fi based costume party. It appears he is a huge science fiction fan, as well as a gamer." His team leader informed him.

"Hack into his systems, get me all the information you can on the games he plays and what DVD's he usually buys. I need it in fifteen minutes." He commanded, not bothering to see if his orders would be carried out. His team may be the best in the collective but he was the deadliest. They knew if they failed to follow orders there would be no second chance.

Minutes later the team lead returned. He had his answers. "His most downloaded videos are a discontinued MTV animated show called Aeon Flux. There is also a movie by the same name as well as a video game. His favorite TV shows are Battlestar Galactica and Dr. Who. We downloaded all the pictures he has on his computer and put them on this padd." Handing said padd to Gabriel.

"Efficient" Gabriel left the room and headed to his quarters. Upon entering, he found his wife standing in front of the mirror looking at herself and rubbing her forehead. His demeanor instantly shifted from the controlled cold blooded operative to loving and devoted husband. Few beings ever saw him like this. Besides his wife, only the Queen, Princess and their small group of friends ever saw anything but the operative side of him.

"_Sirella what's wrong?"_

"_You want to know what's wrong?" _shesnapped.

Having been married to her for so long he knew her Klingon temper was on the loose. She usually blew a fuse every couple of days so he learned to adapt.

"_It's not bad enough they lightened my skin, gave me straight hair," _She continued_. "Did they stop there? No! They took away my ridges! I mean what the fuck! They got all these freaks here with metal sticking out all over. Look at this picture, some idiot had metal spikes screwed into is skull! And they worried about my RIDGES!"_

He let her tirade continue for a couple of minutes before walking over to her engulfing her in his arms. She instantly calmed down and relaxed into his arms. Knowing his wife was now calm enough to talk to he began, _"Review this padd and decide who you want to go as." _

_Minutes later her face lit up. "Aeon! That's who I will be gong as. You know us Klingons- not modest in the least. Besides now that I have the human construct of a body I might as well use it. Who are you going as?_

"_I was planning on something a little less revealing: Neo from The Matrix. "_

"_Mmm, good choice, you know how much I like you in leather. We may never make it to the party!"_

"It is highly possible," he mused, "Let's head to the range and get some practice in. You must be going crazy using these antiquated weapons let alone not being able to use your bat'leth! I know I am. , After that let's go to the dojo and spar a little while."

"You're right about that" Sirella purred as she guided him towards the couch and sidled on to his lap "and you know how I get after a good sparring session. I just want to…mmmm" he silenced her with a toe curling kiss.

Breaking away after a minutes of satisfying indulgence, he said, "Let's go, then we can head to California. When I lived here I never wanted to go there. Now I have to. Oh well, what are we going to do?"

Sirella was growling loudly now, a far cry from the soft purrs of earlier, "Make love to you. At least that's what I am going to do!"

"That is not what I meant." He could see the tell tale signs of arousal in his wife's eyes. Since there was only one thing to do, he picked up his wife he headed to the bedroom before going the range, to practice something much more enjoyable first.

**16 September, 2008**

Sarah, Chuck and Casey sat in the briefing room waiting for Beckman so that the meeting could start. After several minutes of exchanging idle chatter, the display turned on and Beckman began.

"Team," She began, "On Saturday, Tony Jones, a man suspected of funding Fulcrum is having a party at his yacht club. Many high ranking public officials will be in attendance. Chuck, Sarah, you two will attend the party as guests of Mr. Sinclair, one of local politicians that received a large donation from Mr. Carmichael." She continued, "This is an intel gathering mission only. Do not attempt to apprehend anyone. Chuck, you will see if you can flash on anybody and if you do, you will relay the information to Casey who will be in the van monitoring. People, this is very important; we think Jones may be funneling some of his money to Trans World Shipping. This mission will be the beginning of your deep cover assignment. We will meet again in a couple days to discuss the entirety of the mission, but as of right now, just begin to make friends with these people and get contact information. Now for the critical part: under no circumstances are you to take weapons."

_WHAT? _Sarah screamed in her head._ She must have gone round the bend! Maybe I could just bring my knives…_

"Not even your knives, Agent Walker," Beckman added

_Is she reading my mind? _Sarah wondered, but said aloud, "Yes, Ma'am."

"If anything happens, follow the crowd no matter how much it deviates from your training. Run, scream, panic, I do not care, just do nothing that might give you away."

_Well, I got the panic part down pat, _Chuck mused.

"I don't care what you do, just look normal. We will have a team in place just in case. Any questions?"

"Yes Ma'am, is this a black tie affair, or casual dress?" asked Chuck.

"Actually, Agent Bartowski, Mr. Jones has just returned from a sci-fi convention and decided he wanted to do a costume party. He is an avid gamer and sci-fi nut so it should be to your liking."

Sarah looked over at Chuck and was treated to the biggest grin she had ever seen. "Do not get any ideas Chuck. I am NOT going as Princess Leia!" she quipped, earning a frown from Chuck and a grunt from Casey.

"One last thing before I conclude this briefing. Your cover ID's and wedding rings will be delivered this afternoon and the costume shop has been notified that you will be coming in to order your costumes. They can get whatever you need shipped overnight so they will have them for the party. Beckman out."

**20 September, 2008**

A limo pulled up outside the yacht club where the party was being held. The driver got out and went to open the door. Chuck exited the limo first, dressed in his Hans Solo costume. Sarah was next wearing a spaghetti strap red dress that hugged her curves in all the right places a pair of wide yellow sunglasses finished off the ensemble, making her almost the spitting image of Number Six from Battlestar Galactica.

Chuck and Sarah walked hand in hand into the party. They were amazed at the wide range of costumes; almost every genre of sci-fi movie had at least one representative present. Chuck had a few flashes on some minor drug runners but there was no one of much importance. Needing to begin establishing their cover they searched out Mr. Jones. They found him seated at the bar chatting with his wife and a local businessman. He was dressed as the Terminator, but being small in stature he failed to pull it off. After the introductions small talk began. They spent the next hour talking, mostly about video games. Jones was impressed with Chuck's love of video games and science fiction. They made plans to meet again over dinner later in the week. Jones looked up from his new friends and his mouth hung open. His eyes grew to the size of saucers as the new couple approached. Everyone turned to see what had captured his attention. Even Chucks jaw dropped which earned him an elbow to the ribs, he mumbled a quiet "I am sorry"

Striding into the room came Neo. At six feet tall his long legs striding forward caused his long black leather jacket to flow behind him, Black jeans and t-shirt straining to conceal the muscles that rippled as he moved. His hair, just as black, was slicked back and he was wearing dark shades. Beside him was a woman five feet ten with long jet black hair that reached almost to her butt. Her dark brown eyes were glinting with mischief. She was garbed in a black leather half jacket with a high collar leaving her finely toned midriff bare. The gloves she wore appeared to be sewn into the sleeves. Her boy shorts (if you could call them that), were barely keeping her unmentionables covered. Finally, thigh high black boots finished off her ensemble. The entire outfit appeared to be spray painted on. The man and woman moved together as if they were one entity, sleek and powerful. When they reached their host Neo introduced himself and his wife.

"Mr. Jones your party is fantastic! I am Gabriel and this lovely lady is my wife Sirella." he said, extending his hand.

"Sirella, did you know that Aeon Flux is my favorite character? You costume is perfect! The woman dressed as Starbuck is my wife Blair, oh, and this lovely couple is Chuck and Sarah Carmichael."

Sarah's spy senses went on alert. Something about Gabriel was off. All the years of being an agent aided her in picking out the smallest details. His body appeared calm and collected but his eyes told a different story. They were cold and calculating, not fitting in with his friendly and relaxed air. His wife was no different. Though offering a comforting smile, Sarah could see the muscles tensed and ready to uncoil, like a panther before it strikes. Both had a predatory air about them.

Chuck, seeing Sarah go into extreme agent mode spoke out, "If they gave out a prize for the best costume, you two would win hands down"

"Thank you Mr. Carmichael. Yours' is not too bad either and your wife's is exquisite" answered Sirella.

"But umm, aren't you cold?" stammered Chuck. Despite being with Sarah, beautiful women still caused Chuck to get foot in mouth disease.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "I love him but he's still a nerd," she sighed.

Sirella chuckled at the comment and decided to have some fun seeing how flustered Chuck could get. "No Chuck I'm not. In fact, I'm hot, very hot." She purred, literally, her Klingon vocal cords allowing it. Gabriel just let out a small laugh, "Damn babe you're bad. Poor boy is gonna be ruined before the night is over, that is, if his wife does not kill him. "

Sarah heard it as well, _Is she purring? _She thought, _Damn! That bitch is purring at my Chuck. I'm gonna kill her. _

The host and hostess just took it all in, laughed and excused themselves to go mingle. Chuck, noticing the ire in Sarah's eyes decided that discretion was still the better part of valor and moved Sarah away.

After they had moved away from the couple Sarah let loose "She purred at you! I mean really purred. Who does she think she is showing up here looking like that and then flirting with you. And right in front of her husband too!"

Chuck was stunned for a second at his fiancée's outburst. Then it dawned on him, she's_ jealous. Sarah Walker, the great super spy is jealous!_ For the second time that night, his mouth engaged before consulting his brain. "You're jealous!"

"Damn straight I am!" the words were out before she realized it.

All Chuck could do was smile, pull her in for a hug and whisper "Thank you" in her ear.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Sarah you know I love you, and now I believe that you are in love with me even if you can't say. Then you get all jealous and it reminds me that it could be real. That you and I could be together. So thank you" he gently places a kiss on her lips.

_Just when I don't think I can love him anymore he says something like that._

"Hey you two, you're making me sick here. Would you mind getting back in the game?" Casey's voice came over the ear wig. "Looks like you got company and they don't look friendly. Remember the plan and act normal" Casey grunted

"How many Casey, and what are they packing?" Sarah asked

"About twenty and only a few appear to be armed. Keep an eye on your boyfriend, Walker, don't let him do anything stupid"

"No worries Casey, for me panic comes easy!" Chuck replied.

Within seconds, the men had entered the party and were making their way to Jones, pushing people to ground that refused to get out of their way. Several of the men pulled weapons and prepared to start firing.

Chuck's eyes rolled to the back of his head- the tell tale sign of a flash. Sarah, seeing it was more intense than normal, grabbed Chuck and held him as he sank to the floor holding his head. "Casey, I flashed on all of them. They were all Fulcrum, but are not listed as active. They must have splintered off….." He didn't finish. The information overload had caused him to pass out.

Sarah looked up from tending to Chuck and she saw a black streak fly by. What she saw astounded her. Sirella landed in front of them and leapt at the attacker farthest to her left. Aeon's muscles were tense and pulsing, wound like and over-tightened piano wire ready to snap. Sarah knew that if she did snap, somebody was going to have a bad day. Aeon's right arm flashed out in a move so fast it was almost missed. It passed just outside the man's left ear and the palm turned outward and down latching on to the back of the man's neck, at the same time her left leg flew up and behind using her right leg to push off the ground. This got her airborne and heading to the next thug in the row. Her hand squeezed and snapped the neck like a twig, his lifeless body hitting the ground. Her legs then wrapped around the thugs neck, like a diver doing a full twist she spun her body toward the ground. An audible snap was heard as the second mans neck was turned in a most unusual way effectively severing the spinal cord.

The third attacker decided on a different approach, he charged at Aeon, and it was a mistake, the last one he would ever make. He threw a powerful right hand that seemed to be in route to its target. At the last second she tilted her head to the right causing the punch to go wide. Shooting her left hand out; she struck with uncanny accuracy on his sternum. Sarah remembered this hit was known to stop the heart. The sickening sounds of ribs breaking left no doubt in Sarah's mind that the man's sternum was driven into his heart. The fourth and fifth attackers had realized that hand to hand would not work with this killing machine. They started to draw their weapons to take out the threat.

Sirella was now in full battle lust. Thousands of years of warrior heritage were coming through. Through hers eyes everything was turned a shade of red as she was consumed by the battle lust. She had only one option now: kill or be killed. A feral growl erupted and she screamed out something in a language never before heard. Her Klingon senses now fully awakened saw the threat and acted. Her right leg flew up in a motion similar to that of a punter in football. The top of her foot connected just under the man's chin. The impact shattering the man's jaw bone on impact driving the roof of his mouth into his brain, sending blood and teeth flying. With the grace of a large cat and the reflexes of a mongoose, Sirella moved to the final attacker. His arm was almost in a position to get a shot off when her left leg came crashing down on his shin. The man howled in pain as his shin was now at a forty five degree angle and both ends sticking out of the skin. He fell to the floor, no longer able to support his weight on the shattered limb. Her next blow would finish this dance. She threw her right hand out aiming for the temple. On contact the skull caved in and took on a lopsided shape. She headed to the middle of the room where her husband was still engaging targets.

CIA Agent Sarah Walker was stunned. She was one of the best at hand to hand combat and martial arts, and she thought she had seen it all, but she had never witnessed anything like this. This woman scared her. The dance she wove was intricate and smooth with no wasted motion. One move flowed to another with deadly intent. Each strike launched with precision. She had never seen power like this before. She knew she had hit people hard enough to break a cheek bone or jaw, but never hard enough to crush a skull or snap a leg bone.

Senses still on alert, she heard a noise behind her. Spinning around she saw the faces of two men brandishing Glock 22's. She knew that at their distance she'd never get to them before they got off a shot. She only has one option, protect Chuck. Not because he's the intersect, but because he's the man she loves. She figures it worth it, her life for his.


	2. Its About Time

**Chapter 2: It's about Time**

**A/N: ****Still don't own Chuck or STV. I have written the dates in the way I am accustom to: day/month/year. This story is very AU and from this point on will not be close to cannon. Some parts of cannon maybe used but the times will vary. Thanks to BDaddyDL for the Beta.**

They say things happen in slow motion as you are about to meet you maker. As Sarah starts to drape herself over Chuck, she sees a knife handle appear on the foreheads of her two attackers as their bodies start to fall. They hit the floor almost at the same time she comes to rest on Chuck. Knowing the direction the knives came from she turns in that direction. Over fifty feet away she spots Gabriel standing there hand around a man's neck holding his feet inches off the ground. She has seen death many times, and she knows the man has taken his last breath. The next move astonishes her more that what Sirella had been able to do. With what seemed to be flick of his right wrist Gabriel tosses the body twenty feet from where he is standing. He glances over at Sarah and gives her a nod letting her know he had taken out her two assailants. She is good with knives, but the skill it would take to hit two targets at that distance with such accuracy was unheard of. Standing in the doorway she spots Casey. She has never seen much of an expression on him, but now he has a look of what must be pure admiration. She has never witnessed such destruction in such a short period of time. The only thought on her mind is _I hope they are on our side._

Monitoring the surveillance equipment in the van, Casey heard the beginnings of the confrontation, then it all went quiet. He knew there was going to be trouble, and with Walker having no weapons, he called in the back up team. At least he tried to. His signals were being jammed.

_Fuck it! Chuck never stays in the car, Why. Should. I! _

Felling like he doesn't have a choice, he rushes in to help his partners. What greets him stops him in his tracks. Sarah is on her knees cradling Chuck. A half naked female is taking on three attackers, with two bodies already on the ground. A man in a long black coat has just dispatched one of the agents with a blow to the throat. Only seven agents remain of the twenty that had arrived. Bodies litter the floor around the man, their blood making footing difficult. One of the agents makes a move on the man in the coat. Punches are traded for several seconds and it looks to be an even battle. The agent tries a left hook to body. With a speed that Casey has never seen before the coat guy steps into the blow causing it to miss. He pins the arm against his side with his right arm, and then turned a half turn to the left, effectively dislocating the elbow, and bending it ninety degrees from normal. The pure guttural scream of pain from the injured man almost makes Casey cringe. His pain is short lived as the coat guy delivers a punch to the side of his attackers head. The sound it makes reminds Casey of a melon hitting the floor. He knows the man is toast.

Gabriel, like his spouse, is now in full battle lust, except it is Borg in nature. Cold, calculated, precise and logical. Two men are now attacking him, his cortical node taking just nanoseconds to devise a defense and eliminate the threat. Both hands fly out and grab the fronts of his attackers. Using his Borg enhanced strength he lifts both men over his head. In a wind mill motion he brings his right arm down while turning it over. This move turns the attacker over on his back in mid air. He slams the body to the ground with such force all the internal organs rupture and blood erupts from the mouth like a geyser. Using his enhanced hearing he knows this attacker is no more. He repeats the process with the one still in the air.

Only two remain and they look unsure of how to proceed. Off to his left he hears something and he recognizes it as the sound of a slide being pulled back, and a round being chambered into a pistol. He quickly calculates how much time he has before the agents attacking the people he is supposed to protect are killed. Their death is an unacceptable outcome. With speed and precision born from his days as a drone, he unleashes two knives that had been pulled from his sleeve. He sees Sarah start to cover Chuck as his missiles strike true. One of the remaining attackers is now gone, a victim of his wife. He knows she is deep in the haze of battle lust. Grabbing the last remaining attacker he ends it quickly by breaking his neck. Sending a small nod to Sarah to let her know he saved her ass, he carelessly flings the lifeless body to the side to see it land twenty feet away.

Sarah still kneeling on the ground cradling Chuck, motions for Casey to come over. He makes his way to Sarah and Chuck trying to avoid the dead bodies and blood that are littering the floor. He notices for the first time the damage done to the attackers. Several had their throats cut, most still attached buy the smallest amount of flesh. Stab wounds on some told Casey the coat guy had hit the femoral or brachial arteries. _These people are pros, he knows exactly where to strike a lethal blow._ When he finally reaches Sarah, Chuck is starting to come around. Knowing Chuck and blood do not go well together, Sarah turned his head away to keep him from looking. "You really don't want to see this." She whispers in his ear and hugs him.

Gabriel and Sirella made their way over to the trio, arms looped around each other like they were walking in a park. He brushed his lips against hers before turning to the group. "You need to leave, now!" he hissed. He reached down pulled his knives out of the bodies. After wiping them off on the dead man's clothes he stands back up. Turning, Gabriel and Sirella, exit out the side entrance as the sound of the police sirens got closer. "No Shit! Come on Walker we need to move. Help me get Chuck out of here." They help Chuck up and leave the same way as Gabriel and Sirella.

An hour later, the team was back at the castle to give Beckman the report. They had only been seated a short while when the screen turns on and the General appears. "How did the mission go Agents? Were you able to make any inroads with Mr. Jones?"

"Chuck and I have an invitation to have dinner with Mr. Jones and his wife later in the week. He was pretty impressed with Chucks gaming and I got on well with his wife. I think we made headway tonight."

"Very good Walker. We need you to get close; we believe he has ties to the cell in Philadelphia. We pulled the security tapes from the yacht club's ball room where the party was held and our analysts are going over them now. We noticed a…. disturbance before the party ended." Sarah snorted_ disturbance my ass._ "Agent Walker you did a good job tonight of not getting involved. Chuck what else can you tell us about the men you flashed on?"

"The initial flash said the agents used to be Fulcrum, but are no longer with them. Further investigation shows that they were listed as dead or MIA. My initial thoughts are they've splintered and gone rogue, or they may have moved up to the parent organization. Either way, I'm still not sure."

Sarah thought it was time she brought up the couple that had caused all the devastation they had witnessed. "Ma'am there was a couple at the party that I think we need to check out. I believe they are some kind of agent. General, I thought I was good at hand to hand, but this couple scares me. I watched the woman in less than a minute kill five agents with her bare hands. I have never seen speed and power like that before."

Casey carried on "General, when I got there, the man already had a pile of bodies surrounding him. Two agents had circled behind Walker and Bartowski and drew their weapons. Walker tried to cover Bartowski who was down, that's when he threw two knives that hit the agent's dead center of the forehead. He was at least fifty feet from them. Then, after he broke a guy's neck he tossed the body twenty feet as it was nothing. Ma'am, I hate to say it but if they aren't working for us, we could be in trouble."

"Casey's right Ma'am, especially if there are more of them." Sarah joined back in.

Pondering the information for a few seconds, Beckman carried on "Since Chuck didn't flash on them, we may not have any intel on them. Then again, it has been a while since you downloaded the intersect. Chuck, I'll have an update emailed to you by tomorrow evening. Did you get their names?"

"Yes we did general, his name was Gabriel and her name was Sirella. They are probably aliases anyway" answered Chuck

The General paled slightly at this information. The reaction does not go unnoticed by the team. She recalled the meeting in her office when Gabriel said they were sorry asses. _If he is that good, he has a reason to criticize. Walker and Casey are a couple of our best agents and they don't scare easy. Walker says she's scared of the female then Casey says Gabriel must be much better. I am Glad they are on our side. Well I think anyway, _Quickly schooling here emotions she decided to wrap it up "Chuck looks worn out from all the flashes so I'll wrap it up. Get some sleep, dismissed" and the screen went blank.

Sarah and Chuck went in her Porsche and Casey in his Crown Vic. When they got to the apartment they told Ellie and Devon about the date they had been on. To keep their cover up the couple retired to Chuck's room in his sister's apartment. With Chuck still suffering from his massive headache brought on by the numerous flashes, the couple changed for bed and snuggled into a blissful slumber.

20 Sep 2008

General Beckman sat back in her chair and thought over the events of her team's last mission. To say she was amazed by her new team member's performance would be the understatement of the year. Laying her head back she went over the events that lead to her gaining their new status, as well as their "new friends."

**11 Sept, 2008 0730 Ft Meade Md**

"_It seems like you have me at a disadvantage Gabriel, so let's discuss you plan."_

_Conversation flowed back and forth, with final arguments yet to be made. It had been decided that the NSA would get all credit from the ops the new team would have to complete. That left the one sticky point. Ghost chocking his head brings it light, "The relationship between Walker and Bartowski has got to change starting now. They are ineffective as it stands now." _

"_I couldn't agree more, I will have Walker reassigned immediately and get another agent to replace her. It would cause me less headaches." The General moves to grab the phone to make her call but her hand is grabbed by Ghost. _

"_Touch that phone, or try that stupid idea you just spouted, and you'll lose my help as well as theirs. I will have them picked up so fast your head will spin. There is no where you can hide them that we cannot get to them. No General, what you will do is sanction their relationship. My wife and I have been working together for years. We are the best in our… agency. The fact that I got into you office, without anyone noticing me, should be proof enough. If that's not enough, some of the data you have on Fulcrum and rogue agents was placed in the first intersect by us. Fulcrum is just the tip of the iceberg. The group that we are going after is not your typical bunch of rogue agents. They value family. That is how they have gotten so many of your agents to join. Of the agents we have discovered, more than seventy five percent have families. That's why many of the missions you send pretend couples on fail. This is better than anything you have ever seen."_

_Beckman took in the information given to her by Ghost, an agent is that what he is, and if so who does he work for? A clearing of a throat breaks her from her thoughts. "Where and when is their next mission and what is its scope?" questions Ghost. _

_The General gives a detailed breakdown of the op they will be tasked with. "Very good General, I do not want them informed of the changes that will be made before the op. My wife and I will be there to monitor it. Do not worry they will never know we are there, unless the shit hits the fan. Two more things, before I fly my happy ass to California. First, is when you tell them, do it in person, not over the video conference. Second, do not ever try and bull shit me. I will know. I will know where you are and where you should be, and if you cross me, you will be dead within an hour, and I will be the one doing it anyway." The ghost said the last part in a deadly tone that left no room to deny the intent of those words. Beckman knew if she crossed this man her life would last no longer than a day. "Good day General I will see myself out." And with that he was gone._

_That last memory startled the General out of her thoughts. She needed to get on plane and fast. She had her Aide get her on the first flight out of DC._

20 Sep 2008 Casa Bartowski

Chuck and Sarah were sitting on the couch watching a movie. They had just finished having dinner with Chuck's sister Ellie and her husband Devon. Chuck calls out "Hey Ellie" to his sister who's in the kitchen with Devon cleaning up after dinner "What are you and Devon planning to the rest of the night?"

"Nothing really, we both have off tomorrow and were thinking of going to the new club that just opened. One of the doctors I work with said they have a very good lounge singer. Plus, he said it has an intimate atmosphere. You guys should come."

"What do you say Sarah, care to join them?" Chuck asks, using his puppy dog eyes hoping to get an edge. _Come say yes, it will be date but not a date. This sucks having to lie to Ellie and_ _I hate having to lie to myself._

_This will be as close as I can to a real date with him. I finally find someone who makes me happy and I can't do shit about it. Might as well grab what I can._ _Maybe one day I will actually be able to tell him I love him. _"I'd love to Chuck"

"Hey Ellie, were in!"

Before Ellie can respond there is a knock at the door. Chuck hurries over to open it and finds Casey standing there. Casey signals over to Walker to have her join them. When she gets there he informs them "We have an emergency briefing with Beckman in thirty minutes at Castle. I asked her why we could not link up at my place but she said it had to be at the castle."

"Damn Casey, we just told Ellie we would join her and Devon for a night out." Whined Chuck

"Don't worry Chuck, I got this" grunts Casey "Sorry to barge in like this. Chuck must have forgotten to tell you that he and Sarah were supposed to join me tonight." John Casey said keeping the lie as simple as he could.

"Yeah John, Chuck can be like that. Don't worry. Chuck we'll take a rain check." Ellie calls back.

"No problem Chuckster." Devon adds putting his two cents in

"Thanks Guys. Sorry I forgot. Casey lets go"

"Ellie, Devon I'll see you later, and thanks for dinner." Sarah chimes in.

Sarah why don't you just stay over instead of heading back to your place" Ellie asks.

"I'm sorry I can't I have something I need to take care of later." Answers Sarah as her and chuck leave to join Casey.

"Devon I just don't get those two. What's taking them so long to move to the next level of their relationship?"

"I have no idea babe, no idea at all"

Their Goodbyes said, the trio exits Casa Bartowski and heads to the castle. Passing through the security points they head to the briefing room. What awaits them there sends cold tendrils of fear up their spines. Seated at the table is none other the Brigadier General Diane Beckman, Director of the NSA. All of team B had the same thought _Oh, crap this is bad. Great just great_._ Well now I know why Casey's place was out._ "Take your seats." Commands Beckman

Chuck sits first, then Sarah to his left, and finally Casey to his right. Stealing glances at each other, wondering why the General would come here. And what is the size of the ax she would be using. Their torment is short lived as the first strike comes, swiftly and without remorse.

"As of this minute the intersect mission as you know it is over" calmly states the General. "You've compromised yourself with the asset Agent Walker." The blow strikes Sarah hard, her head lowers toward the desk and her eyes close waiting for the ass chewing she is about to get. Her face drains of all color, knuckles white as she clenches her fists together. Turning her face towards Chuck seeing complete devastation in is soulful brown eyes. "You let your asset get to you. We've suspected it for a while now. That said, Agent Walker, you will be reassigned immediately to Langley, report there no later than 1500 on the 25th."

Shaken to her core Sarah steeled herself to make her argument on why she should stay, but she can only get out a meek, "Ma'am, I have never let my feeling for my asset stop me from doing my job." Sarah's thoughts start quickly running through head, _shit_ _that's something I didn't expect_. _I wonder what the General has up her sleeve, Bunker or termination order? Well it won't be me. Chuck means to much to me to do it. We'll run, no that won't work. Maybe they will let him be an agent? Gotta think, gotta think. I can't lose him! _

The general holds up her hand, and fixes Sarah with an icy glare that silences her. "Enough" the General barks out. Beckman pauses reading the second strike of the ax. It also strikes hard and fast with no remorse and just as accurate.

"Major Casey" Barks the General "you are to report to Ft. Meade no later than 1500 on the 25th" Casey's reaction is different, his face sports a never seen before grin, making him look less like the cold blooded killer he is and more like a kid that just got the best Christmas present ever. Casey's immediate thought _there is a God! About time I got out of that loony bin, maybe now I can do something more to my liking _Casey's smile slowly fades as his thoughts change._ Maybe they decided to put Chuck in a bunker after all. Poor kid he does not deserve this. Damn, Walker was the best partner I ever had. This shit ain't right. What the hell is she thinking? We have the best record out of all the teams out there. _

_Beckman was also lost in thought for a second. That got their attention! Damn I'm good! I just hope it gets Walker to admit her feelings about Chuck and we can move this along. _Just as she starts to continue on with the briefing Chuck jumps in, "General what about…"

"Shut it Bartowski. If I want to hear from you, I'll let you know. Now stay quiet until I finish my brief. When I am done you will have all the answers you need." But Chuck does not like that answer and begins to talk again. Casey silences him with an elbow to the ribs before he can get started.

Casey leans and whispers in to Chuck in a tone that could freeze ice, "now's not the time, just let her finish" Sarah slips her hand under the table and gives him a reassuring pat on the leg, and a small smile in an attempt to calm him down. These actions don't go un-noticed by the General. Getting the feeling that the situation is slowly getting away from her she starts again.

"Agent Walker, I would like to congratulate you on keeping your professional attitude while dealing with a very difficult situation. I feel the situation between you and the asset has gotten out of control and needs to be rectified"

"Thank you Ma'am." Replies Sarah,_ wow did not see that coming._ Sarah's is in a panic, her features don't show her inner turmoil. Her years of being an agent allow her to school her emotions, going into what Chuck calls agent mode. She not sure where Beckman is going with this, but she is sure it is not good. _Please let me at least have the chance to tell Chuck how feel about him before they separate us. I wasted so much time pretending he didn't matter when I could have been with him. _

The General nods her acquiescence, and continues on "I have always firmly believed that there should not be any feelings between asset and handler. Emotions diminish the agent's ability to perform their duties, they make them question their decisions and cloud their judgment. Recently it was pointed out to me that this is the not the truth in some cases. Love" upon saying the word love, the General can feel a warmth rise in her chest "can make an agent better, make them work harder than an agent that does not care if the asset lives or dies. It makes them more willing to give their life for the asset without a second thought. Conversely it makes the asset better; all you need to do is look at Chuck."

'_Uh what look at me, why? All I ever do is mess up_ are the thoughts going through Chucks mind_._

"I am sure Major Casey will agree with me on this, if Chuck was not in love with you Agent Walker, do you really think he would have jumped off the roof of that building to save you? The reason he never stays in the car is because he can't stand the thought of you getting hurt, he believes in his own mind that he can help you despite never having been trained. Just look at Chuck, being in love can give you an inner strength you never thought you had. All that being said, Chuck because of your importance, I wish you'd stay in the damn car!"

_Can she be saying what I hope she is? _Sarah wonders_ I have never felt like this about anyone else before._

_Is she saying I can have a relationship with Sarah, does Sarah even want one with me?_ By this point Chucks mind is reeling.

Giving the group a few moments to compose themselves the General continues on, "Agent Walker I need the answer to this question, and don't screw with me on it. I want the truth, not the company line understood? Before you answer consider this, it's not the truth that will set you free, but the lie."

"Yes General"

"Do you love Chuck?"

Looking over at Chuck Sarah gives him the largest grin he has ever seen on her face, unshed tears appearing in her sky blue eyes. He's looking back at her with liquid browns eyes wide with excitement, and she can see the love he feels for her radiating off his face. The happiness that she has been denied for so long in her life, finally has a chance to break through the walls she has built around her heart. Chuck's love shatters those walls, and pours outward from her heart infusing her body with a sense of warmth and calm she has always wanted to have, but she thought could never be hers.

Still looking at Chuck, she knows this is it. This feeling is what has been missing from her for as long as she can remember. She owes it all to the tall curly haired man sitting across from her, who snuck into her heart by chipping away the walls she had erected around it. Not by any grand gestures or gifts, but by the small almost insignificant things, his knowing she hates olives, her favorite flowers, the music she likes most after a tough mission. It was the bracelet that used to be his mothers, and most of all not bugging her about the past. A man with a heart of gold, who has, on many occasions, risked his life to save hers, despite her objections, A person who put her first unlike all the other men in her life who always looked out for themselves first then her. She knew he would gladly give his life for hers, and not think twice about it. Now with the utterance of a single word, three measly letters, the one word that has the ability to change the dynamics of the team for good, will give her everything she has denied herself for so long. One word will change her life forever.

With a confidence in her feelings she did not think she had, she turns and looks at the General and says in a voice that sounds almost lyrical, "Yes, with all my heart." A small smile appears on the Generals face. When it does, years seem to fade from her face, and it makes her seem more human.

"Great, and now for you Mr. Bartowski. I have no idea why I am asking this, because if the tears in your eyes and the smile on your face are any indication; the answer is obvious. Do you love Sarah Walker?"

Chuck, caught up in the revelation that Sarah loves him, barely registers that the General is speaking to him. A guy so far out of her league that if he was playing ball for his high school team, she would be in the major leagues. She's like a panther, sleek, agile, quick and deadly, yet her beauty compares to that of Aphrodite. From the first time he saw her, he knew she was the one. He trusts her completely with his life, and now with his heart. The questions that have been plaguing him for months have now been answered there will be no more, "it's complicated" when talking to Ellie about their relationship. One lie he has been telling his sister has just been removed from his life. His dream of having a real relationship with Sarah has just been handed to him on a silver platter complete with the serving set. Fueled by the knowledge that Sarah loves him and the fact the General seems to be on board with it; his mind is made up. Chuck turns to face Sarah and takes her left hand in his right. Using his left hand he gently reaches towards her face placing his palm gently on her cheek and brushes away the tears with his thumb.

Chuck kept his eyes focused on Sarah's as he answered, "The question General should have been, when haven't I loved Sarah. Yes Ma'am I do. Speaking for the both of us; thank you for giving us this chance." Sarah could only nod her head in agreement as she was still trying to come to grips with what had just transpired.

Casey looking over at the couple graced them with a small smile and a nod of approval. Realizing that this was not the main reason for the briefing turned to the General and raised the question, "Ma'am, you just reassigned Walker and me, what does this mean for the team?"

"I will get to that in a minute. Agent Walker and Agent Bartowski" seeing the shocked looks on the new couple's faces she continues on, "You heard correctly Agent Bartowski. The only way I will officially sanction this relationship is if, and only if, you are both agents. It's a game of give and take Bartowski, you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. Well I just scratched yours, now you can scratch mine. You have the option to join the CIA or NSA. Which will it be?"

Sarah and Chuck turn to look at each other and silently communicate with each other. Their eyes darted back and forth, words exchanged but not spoken. After several seconds Sarah nods and gave his hand a squeeze of insurance, "Well General since my girl friend is CIA" giving her one of his lopsided grins, "I think I'll keep it the family. The CIA Ma'am"

"Very well Agent Bartowski. When you three report in, we will have you do the proper paperwork. Now that the issue is put to bed, we can address the main reason I called the meeting. The mission you are about to embark on is going to be a long deep cover assignment that may last several years. The operation itself will be mostly here in the states. You will relocate to Philadelphia, but will require extensive travel abroad"

"General?" Chuck quips nervously, "Umm… how am I going to explain this at work or Ellie? Most of our missions have been here and I can get away. You don't know Ellie, she will not just accept the fact that I quit Buy More and rolled off to Philadelphia."

Casey shoots Chuck a glaring look that says "_suck it _up!" Sarah mean while just looks at Chuck and gives him a look that says _Don't worry. We'll figure it out and it will be all right._

Letting out a small sigh, Beckman thinks "_damn he must think were idiots_" before going on with her answer, "Tomorrow you and Casey are to begin your first mission code named, 'operation quit the Buy More.'" Shocked faces stare at the General for a few seconds, and then slowly look at each other. "Start acting like you are unhappy at work, and hint that you are looking for other jobs. Prior to your relocation you can give your two week notice. With the changes that were just made, and the scope of the mission you be embarking on. It is imperative that all family ties continue, as well as the ones with your friends."

Chuck just stared at the General like she has two heads, _ok something's wrong here. Beckman has finally lost it. Maybe she's been abducted by pod people. There is no way this is the same person that tormented me for the past two years._

_Aw crap, Big Mikes gonna be pissed I'm just up and leaving. I hate screwing him over. Then there's Morgan what the heck is gonna do? Oh well Anna's just gonna have to get him through it. But the good part Is, no the great part is I'm out of there. Shit, what about a job. I need a reason to give Ellie for just up and leaving. Better ask that one. _

"Mr. Bartowski in the near future you will receive in the mail, a job offer from the government to work in their software development department based in Washington. On paper you will hold a pay grade and position of a GS 12. You will receive all the back pay from when you became the intersect. In reality you will be working for us as you have been, you will be drawing a check from the CIA. During the down time between missions you will receive small arms and self defense training from Walker and Casey. In addition to that, you will spend time at one of the CIA's training locations to work on basic spy craft, with the additional skills you may at some time be able to draw from the intersect; you should be able to achieve full agent status in a decent amount of time. That should take care of the job and Ellie issue, correct?"

"Yes General"

"Before we started this briefing I finished a meeting in which I was given the intelligence information on a group of terrorists that has plans to attack a major location in Europe. Much of the information is sketchy at best, no determined location, no method of attack and no timeline, just the overall consensus it will be in Europe." Beckman pauses to observe the three team members, seeing the nods of understanding, she continues, "The only solid information we have is the cell's main base of operation is located in Philadelphia, operating under the business name of Trans World Shipping Inc. Analysts from the CIA, FBI and surprisingly the IRS, traced their money trail to shell companies in foreign countries. Most are located in the Middle East and South America. Using this information they were able to figure out that most of the businesses were fronts for drug trafficking, money laundering and prostitution. Intelligence data from our field agents in the respective countries were able to determine that this money was then rerouted to the various terrorist training camps around the world. Any questions before I continue?"

"General, that's not much to go on." says Casey "How did they come to the conclusion the attack will be in Europe?"

The general purses her lips and pauses a moment before replying, "I know" she replies, answering the first part of the question. "A lot of chatter has been picked up over cell phone communications, and some hand held radios. Our agents have also managed to get their hands on some low level terrorist computers. From there the analysts put it all together. Does that answer your question Maj. Casey?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Beckman continues "Walker and Bartowski will be posing as the Carmichaels, a married couple. That is unless they decide to actually get married. Chuck's cover will be that he comes from a wealthy family, but he has more the tripled his wealth on his own. He developed the latest encryption software used by the Government as well as several video games. He will have an extensive stock portfolio, mostly blue chips.

Sarah, will be a former fashion model now working in the financial sector. I figured it was about time we put the money we spent on sending you to Harvard. They will be looking to invest their money in the shipping industry. Trans World Shipping is holding a large gala hoping to entice investors to finance their company.

Major Casey, you will be acting as the couples body guard. Invitations have already been sent to you and should be at Mr. Bartowski's house within a couple days. Agents you will relocate to Philadelphia by the end of the November. We would like you to head the Philadelphia at the beginning of the month and buy a house. Make sure it is near an air field. In keeping with his status as a wealthy businessman we will provide you with a small plane. That way when Chuck needs to head in for his training you three can fly there. Remember this all on the CIA and NSA so make sure the house reflects his wealth."

"Won't it be a waste of Chucks abilities if we only use him for one assignment?" queried Sarah

Beckman gave her answer. "One of the benefits of this long term mission is it will allow your team to travel to where you are needed. It will be one of the many changes that will be made to you current method of operations. As I stated before, we need to keep Chuck involved with his family and friends. We plan on keeping the castle operational and staffed with Agents that Walker and Casey hand pick. That's the reason they have to report in on the 25th"

"Did this answer your question from earlier Major Casey?"

"Yes Ma'am"

Checking around the table to be sure the Agents are still with her she continues, "When intelligence is uncovered out there that pertains to Fulcrum or any other of the rogue cells or know enemies we may need your help with you will fly back and join with the teams in place to eliminate the cell. Trips back here will be made often using the guise of business trips. With Chucks cover being a wealthy investor, he will have business contacts all over the states. Plus it will allow him to visit his sister and whomever else he chooses.

The other thing I was enlightened about was the importance of family. When it was pointed out to us from past mission files, an unacceptable number of missions failed, or were less than successful due to the lack of family interaction. Some of those involved you, Sarah didn't they?"

"Yes" Sarah replies thinking of one of her missions that had gone south. It had failed because she and Bryce were undercover as a married couple trying to get information on a drug cartel. They had repeatedly been asked to attend social functions that involved family members. The leaders grew suspicious when they were constantly rebuffed with the answer of we aren't close to them. When the tensions got to high and they thought they had been discovered she had no choice but to scrub the mission.

"To prevent that from happening again on this mission, we will require a full disclosure to your family. You have our permission to inform your sister and her husband that you work for us. Use caution and do not reveal the intersect to them. Make sure they understand the importance of what you do. They have already been cleared and will need to come in and sign the non-disclosure statements.

One last thing Chuck, there are a lot of very good hospitals near Philadelphia. Should you find yourself missing Ellie and Devon too much, we could arrange to have them moved out there and be a part of the team behind the scene. It would be good to have a couple of doctors on call that we can trust. That's all people let's make it happen, dismissed." The general rises from the table and exits the castle escorted by her security detail.

As soon as the General exits the castle Sarah throws herself at Chuck, wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. Chuck response is immediate. He grabs her waist pulling her closer and crashing his lips against hers. It not any kiss, it's a kiss that releases all the emotion they have been denying each other for months. As they break apart they hear a loud grunt then Casey's voice "Get a room you two, you deserve it! Now can somebody please explain WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?"

"Casey I have no friggin idea but if you think for one minute I'm going to try and find out you're out of your ever loving mind!" screams an excited Chuck "I finally have the ok to be with the woman I love more than life itself. And on top of that I can stop lying to Ellie. So if you actually think I care if Beckman slipped a gear or went bat shit crazy, you're nuttier than she is! As an added bonus Ellie and Devon may be able to join us. I need to take all of this in. Then we can tell them everything at a later date."

Sarah's body still wrapped around Chuck, just burrowed her face deeper in his neck and laughs. Not a small giggle, but a full throated belly laugh, the kind that makes your ribs hurt and brings tears to your eyes when you're done. Chuck knows this is the best sound he has ever heard. He pulls back so he can look at the woman he loves and is rewarded by the smiling face of one Sarah Walker.


	3. Engaged 3 and 4

**Chapter 3: Disclosure**

A/N: Still don't own Chuck or STV. I'm just playing in their sandbox but I'll put them back when I'm done. All OFC's are mine.

**24 September 2008**

**LAX Airport**

"You OK Chuck?" Sarah asks chuck as they are walking away from dropping of their bags.

"Is it that obvious, or is it just that obvious to the woman that I love is that in tune to me."

"OK Chuck, that's a nice try to avoid the subject. What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little nervous to be heading to Langley. We have come so far and I don't want to blow it."

Sarah touched his arm for a second and turned him to look at her. "Chuck, you can do anything. I know you will do great."

Chuck took a deep breath and smiled and said, "Thanks babe."

Casey pushes past them with a grunt.

**Langley Virginia**

"I didn't think that filling out paperwork, and picking out agents would take this long."

"As a moron, I mean asset you missed most of the paperwork Bartowski."

"Yeah well I need a favor." When both Sarah and Casey looked at him Chuck said "I want to get Ellie and Awesome a souvenir or two." _There is no way I'll tell them what I really want to do._

Sarah thought for a second and said "No problem Chuck, I got a friend who will need to come with you though." _Even though Bill is retired from the field, he should be good enough escort Chuck. Besides I trust him_

"Bill, I need a favor, and I hope you can help."

"I'll see what I can do Chuck"

"I am hoping to be getting engaged soon, and I need a ring. Problem is, I need it before I head home. I figure that since we use wedding sets as part of our covers the CIA must have someone make them. Do you know or can you find out who we use?"

"To easy Chuck. I know someone in what we nicknamed the props department that can help out. Let me check with him real quick." Several minutes and a couple calls later Bill has the information Chuck needs. "You got lucky Chuck; we use a place that's about twenty minutes from here. I called my boss to ask for an early lunch to take you shopping, he said not to worry. It seems it's been cleared by the higher ups to assist you any way we can. Best part is I don't have to clock out, so we can get lunch as well."

It was a short drive to the nondescript looking jewelry called Jen's House of Jewelry. They went inside where they were greeted by a middle aged woman. "Welcome to my store gentlemen how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Chuck and he's Bill. I'm look for an engagement ring. Problem is I need it today. These are the stones I want to use, can you help?" Chuck hands Jen a piece of paper with the required stones on it.

"She must be a very special woman." Barely audibly she mumbled "I wish mine would realize that." She took a breath and continued louder. "You're in luck, we handle rush jobs in here all the time. I have a large selection of the stones you asked about, and some very nice rings to mount them on. Why don't you have a seat, and I'll get them together and we'll see what we can come up with." Jen motions them to sit down, and heads to the back to get what she needs.

It takes about an hour but Chuck finally puts together, what he feels is the perfect ring for Sarah. Jen tells him it will take her a couple of hours or so to mount and clean the stones, and they should go and have lunch. Bill and Chuck decide that it will be best to pay for the ring now, go eat, then pick up the ring and get back to work. Several hours later Chucks first mission as a real spy is complete.

Sarah and Casey spent their first day getting recommendations from the department heads on who they believed were their best people. The next couple of days were spent pouring over files of the perspective personal they might be using on their team. Some would remain in their current posts, while some would have to transfer to a new location. At the end of the three days they headed back to Burbank.

1 Oct 2008

General Beckman called for a briefing to go over a new mission. It would be a fairly easy one. They simply had to get into an office building and plant a few bugs. They left the castle and headed their separate ways, Casey headed back to the Buy More to start his shift and Sarah and Chuck headed for Casa Bartowski. "Hey Sarah, lets head to the beach and just relax a bit. We have some down time before the mission, and I want to spend it with you alone."

"Sounds great Chuck. Let's get some food, and have a picnic."

"You are reading my mind."

Sarah and Chuck sat on the beach relaxing after their meal. Sarah was sitting between Chuck's legs with her back nestled against his chest. His arms were wrapped securely around her pulling her close as possible, her hands gently caressing his arms.

Sarah couldn't remember feeling this relaxed or happy. She could feel the rise and fall of Chuck's chest against her back begin to increase, and his arms began to warm to her touch.

"Chuck, Is everything ok, you're not having trouble with the new download are you? Maybe we should call the Doc?"

"Sarah, that's not what the problem is."

"Then what's wrong baby"

"I'm fine, really Sarah. I hate to ask but can I stand up for a moment so I can get out my phone. I need to call Ellie and let her know we will be there for dinner." Sarah slid off Chucks lap and onto the blanket letting out a contented sigh and nodded lazily.

After completing the call Chuck turned to face Sarah and sat in front of her. He took Sarah's hand slowly, and he teasingly brought it to his mouth and kissed each finger. Sarah closed her eyes and inched closer to where he had kneeled down. When he got to the third finger on her left hand he slid his surprise on it. Sarah felt something cool sliding on her finger. Hers eyes snapped open and she gasped. Resting on her finger was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. A two carat princess cut diamond sat nestled on a band of platinum. Around the band were alternating Amethyst and Ruby stones. Sarah felt tears starting to form in her eyes and for the first time she could remember, she willingly let them fall. She knew this was her ring meant only for her. Chuck had it made special, a one of a kind. Knowing this made her love him just a little bit more. She wondered not for the first time_, How did I get so lucky?_

"Sarah, I have been in love with you since the first time I saw you. Without you I would not be where I am today. You brought me out of my self induced depression and self pity of five years. Gave meaning to my life again, and made me realize my true potential. This ring symbolizes what you mean to me. Each stone has a meaning, some have more than one. The diamond represents strength and eternity. You are my strength, and I want to spend eternity with you. The amethyst means protection. You are my protector and I now give you my heart to protect. The ruby signifies love. I love you Sarah Walker would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" as he finished he could feel Sarah as she sobbed faintly against his chest.

Sarah was enthralled by his words; never in her wildest imagination did she expect to get to this point in her life. She had a lousy childhood bouncing from place to place. Then joining the CIA further stripped of her humanity and hardened her heart even more. She realized for the second time in as many days that all of that was washed away by one curly haired man with a heart of gold.

Scooting around to face him she takes both his hands in hers and stares into is dark brown eyes. "When I started this assignment I was a broken human being, a cold heartless bitch that did not care if she survived the next mission. I had no respect for myself or other people. I erected a wall around my heart and vowed not to let anyone in so I could not get hurt. I was sinking into the abyss with no hope of getting out. Then I got to know you as a person and not just an asset to protect. Slowly, very slowly, you wormed your way into my life and my heart. Like the ocean we enjoy watching slowly erodes the sand, you did the same to those walls. Slowly chipping them away and carrying the pieces off. I wonder every day how I got so lucky with you. Chuck you saved my life and restored my soul. For that alone I am grateful, so Chuck the answer is yes. I would like nothing more than to be Mrs. Charles Bartowski." As she was finishing she leans in and gives him a kiss. It wasn't hard, forceful and full of passion. It was soft and tender, the kind of kiss that conveys all the love and respect one has. Breaking the kiss she sees in his eyes all the love he has for her and she knows as sure as the sun will set and the moon will rise, the same can be found in hers. They sat awhile longer just enjoying the warmth of each other that had been denied them so long. As the sun started to set they picked up and headed to Chuck's for dinner with Ellie and Devon.

"Sarah this is going to sound funny but you have ear plugs in here?"

"Huh, why do you need them?"

"You're a spy, you figure it out." After seeing Sarah's expression Chuck continued. "Ellie plus engagement is bound to equal a squeal that will send every dog in the area running for cover, and Casey bursting through the front door. We can also use this as a good time to tell them about my joining the CIA" Chuck was hardly able to control his laughter while getting this out.

"Oh. my. God. Chuck! Ellie is going to freak!"

"Try telling me something I don't know. Then we have to follow it up with the whole full disclosure thing. I'm worried how Ellie will take it?" just a hint of nerves creeping into his voice.

"Don't worry Chuck if we can turn the cast iron bitch, known as Beckman, we can handle your sister." A giggle erupted from her, as she pictured Ellie's reaction. "I wonder how long it will take her to notice."

"Not long I'm sure." he reasoned "We're here. Shall we my lovely bride to be?"

"Yes, my wonderful fiancée, let's go and face the squeal!" _it feels so good to be able to say that. This has been the best week of my life, and it is only going to get better._

They walked to the apartment holding hands, not wanting to separate from each other. Entering they saw Ellie in the kitchen fixing dinner, and Devon on the couch watching the ESPN. "Ellie we're back. How much longer before we eat?"

"Not long Chuck I'm just finishing up. Hey Sarah glad you could join us." Ellie moved onto the living area and continued "We never got to out the other night. Wanna cash in the rain che…." The words died on her lips. Sarah had unconsciously brushed a fallen strand of hair off her face using her left hand. The glint of the ring was captured by Ellie almost immediately

".GOD!…..Sarah? Chuck? When? How? I'm so excited for you! Congratulations! LET ME SEE!" this was all said as Ellie practically flew to the couple embracing the pair in bone crushing hugs. Chuck was right the squeal the erupted from his sister almost made his ears ring. She was in such a euphoric state, that her words were coming out in a rapid stream.

"Ellie, relax. Sarah and I will tell you everything over dinner. For now, let's just eat."

"Way to go Chuckster! Congratulations Sarah, Welcome to the family!" beamed Devon as he hugged the couple.

The couples moved to the dining area and started eating. The newly engaged couple explained the events of the day. Despite the relaxed and joyous setting, Sarah and Chuck felt a bit nervous because they were about to tell Ellie and Devon about their true jobs. Looking at each other they had a conversation without words, something only people truly in love can do. When Chuck slightly nodded Sarah went first.

"Ellie, I need you to know that I love your brother very much. He has always been my strength when I need it, my shining light when I slip into the dark pit of despair. He means more to me than anything else in the world. I was never much good at showing my emotions, but being with your brother has changed me. You need to believe me when I tell you this. I love you and Devon like a brother and sister, I see you as family; something I never had growing up. Chuck's been given the ok to tell you about what has been going on since I came here. It should clear up why our relationship always appeared to be mixed up. Ellie, no matter what you hear next you can rest assured this is real. I love your brother with all my heart." Sarah just looked at Chuck and nodded her head.

"Ok here's the thing" his voice was trembling, and he was shaking slightly as he spoke, partly from nervousness, but mostly from the fear of Ellie's reaction. "Awhile ago I was given the opportunity to serve our country" _not like I had a choice _"While I was at Stanford the CIA was looking to recruit people to join them. They hid specialized tests within the normal tests we were given in certain classes. Somehow my test scores got lost somewhere along the highway. During the summer of 2007 many of the misplaced records were found. The CIA finally got around to evaluating how I did on those tests. They found I have a unique ability to process intelligence data. Sarah was sent here to offer me a job, working for the CIA."

_My man is learning fast. He just gave them enough information about what he can do, but never brought up the intersect, amazing. _

Ellie's reaction was one of complete and shock followed by disbelief. _Chuck working for the CIA and Sarah as well, holy shit! Wait, what about, John he got here around the same time._ Her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets.

Devon's reaction was almost the same, if his large as saucers eyes were any indication. _Chuck's in the CIA, guess he's not still working on his five year plan._

Chuck was somewhat relieved by the couples reaction even though he was still trembling a little_. I haven't been hit yet_. _That's a plus._ "Shortly after I accepted, because of my unique ability to process data, the CIA and NSA came up with a pilot program. Since 9/11 the intelligence communities were trying to share information more freely than they had in the past. I am part of that pilot program. They would take an agent from each agency and team them up with an analyst, in this case me. The CIA told Sarah to stay and the NSA sent Major John Casey."

By now both Devon's and Ellie's heads were spinning. Neither one had yet to completely wrap their heads around the idea the Sarah, let alone Chuck, were working with the CIA. Now they just learned that their neighbor John was with the NSA. _This has got to be dream,_ went through their minds.

"Nobody can know about me, so you to need to keep this between us. In their infinite wisdom, they figured the best way for us to fly under the radar, and keep me safe would be to have Sarah pose as my girlfriend. My first thoughts were that the CIA and NSA are nuts. Who would ever believe that someone that looks like Sarah would be interested in anyone like me. Now that we are getting married, I think they must have known something all along!"

Chuck noticed Ellie getting ready to speak so he held up his hands to forestall any questions that might come up, "Guys I am very good at what I do, you could say I am one of a kind. There are a lot of bad guys no longer out there because of what we do. That's why you catch me coming and going at weird times. It's also the reason I had those injuries I could not explain. Due to some archaic guidelines in use by the CIA and NSA; analysts like me cannot get into romantic relationships with agents like Sarah."

_Well that explains a lot _mused Ellie_._

"So we had to keep our feelings hidden, while we pretended to date. A couple of days ago I was given full agent status." This made Ellie's eyes grow even larger. She had just started calming down from the first shock. "We will be leaving soon on a mission that I cannot tell you about, but I will be able to come and visit and you can come and see me. The job offer I got in the mail yesterday is my cover. So when people ask why I moved you can tell them a legitimate reason. Feel free to ask us any questions, but keep in mind we probably won't answer many."

"Wow" was the first thing Ellie could make herself say "is it dangerous? Chuck you could be hurt or killed. What were you thinking?"

"Yeah sis it can be at times. But it's not that bad. I have Sarah and Casey to watch and protect me. Mostly I just point out the bad guys, and let the team take care of them. I just stay in the car." _If Ellie ever found out the truth, it would Not Be Good_. "I plan to tell Morgan about my new job as a programmer, but not the real one with the CIA. He may be my best buddy, but he can be an idiot, and he's bound to say the wrong thing to the wrong person." The last part got a laugh from everyone. Maybe they laughed a little too hard, but the tension was gone.

Chuck showed them the letter that would explain his cover job, and passed it to Ellie to have her read it later. He decided to give her the cliff's notes version until she had time to read it "I got a job offer to be a software engineer for the Government. It's the cover for why we have to move to Philadelphia by the end of next month. You already know the real reason."

Ellie took a cleansing breath and her words got stronger as she stated. "Sarah, I know you love my brother; I could see it for a long time. I would like to thank you for taking care of my brother. I have been doing it for years, just not against bad guys. I never could figure out why two people so obviously in love, never got to the next step." Seeing the worried look on Sarah, Ellie continued on "I may not like what went on between you two but, I can understand it. So are we in any danger?"

It was Sarah's turn to chip in. "We don't believe so, but to make sure, there will be several teams of agents moving in here. One team will move into Casey's old place, and several will be in the same complex. You two will be given files on each team so you know them. Contact them if anything out of the ordinary happens, and they will handle it. Also with Chuck being gone, the threat level should decrease. With the engagement, I will be living here as well. It's about time don't ya think Chuck?" his reaction was immediate; he pulled Sarah into a searing kiss and hugger her tight._ When did we discuss moving in together? Wait. Who the hell cares! I am with Sarah and we're getting married, so what if she decides we're going to live together. It's not like I'm gonna say no. Damn, I'm one lucky bastard!_

"What I don't understand is why you need to move away. Can't you guys just stay and have Chuck analyze the data from here?" Ellie was trying to get a better feel for Chuck's job.

"Not really." Sarah paused a second to gather her thoughts on how Chuck did his job. "Chuck needs to see the people in question before he can put all the information together. Also, because Chuck is has reached full agent status, he needs to be trained as one. Needless to say most of the training locations are near Langley."

**A/N 2: **If you're interested in finding out whom or what Gabriel is, review and you may just find out. Also if there is something you like or dislike about this story let me know as well. It won't get any better if I don't know what's wrong.

**Chapter 4: Gabriel's Origin**

2 Oct 2008

Gabriel was sitting around the conference room at his head quarters with his department heads. "Tomorrow we start the biggest covert mission our team has ever had. If we fail it will be the end of everything we know and stand for. All our lives depend on the success of us completing this mission. Only Sirella, Doc and I know the real reason we are here. You were briefed before you left that we came here to study earth's history, and attempt to fill in the gaps left after the Great War. That is not the case." Gabriel paused to allow his people to digest what they had just been told.

"We have been tasked by our Queen and Kahless to save not only the Borg Collective, but the Klingon Empire as well. What I am about to show you, will explain all you need to know about why we are here, and what the mission is. The information revealed to you today, can never leave this room. Only the Queen, Princess and the upper layer of the Hive mind know the truth about me." The massive screen turned on, and the events unfolded before them.

Unimatrix 01 the largest starship know in all four quadrants, home of the Borg Queen Seven of Nine, and her Mate B'Elanna Torres, was quietly cruising towards Borg space located deep in the heart of the Delta quadrant. The Borg had just finished a lengthy negation in the Gamma quadrant that finalized yet another species joining the Borg collective.

Several years prior, the former Queen had been killed, and no other replacement drones were left. The Borg had attempted to lure Seven of Nine back to the collective, because Seven was the last of the replacement drones. Seven agreed to return to the Borg as long as the USS Voyager was left alone. B'Elanna convinced the hive mind to allow Seven to behave as an individual by informing them that if they wanted Seven to be was another mindless drone; they really didn't need her as the Queen.

Seven brought sweeping changes to the Collective with the most important being the Borg no longer assimilated new species into the collective. Instead they asked any species the hive thought would add to the perfection of the collective to become vassal territories of the Borg Collective. Members of these species would volunteer for a period of years and act as individuals. The Borg got the distinctiveness they wanted and the species got the protection of the Borg collective. The Borg eventually formed an alliance with the Sill, a species residing in fluidic space, where stable Omega molecules could be found. The Omega molecule is the most powerful source of energy known. A small string of Omega Molecules is capable of supplying all the power requirements for any major city, for an indefinite period of time. These combined factors made the Borg the most powerful entity in all four quadrants.

Seven and B'Elanna were chatting quietly in their quarters when the combined voices of the Hive mind came over their Borg link. _Our Queen, there has been a temporal incursion in grid 2375. From what we can tell the end date is around 2003 on the old earth calendar._

"Do we know what was the caused the rift," questioned Seven.

_Yes our queen, it seems that a rouge group of Gallian's a species of shape shifters, not satisfied with the alliance with us, stole a time ship and headed back in time._

"Have we been able to assess their reasons?" B'Elanna joined in.

_They know our Queen is from Earth, they are under the belief if they went back far enough in time and changed the time line, Seven would never be born or assimilated._

"_If_ that happened, I would not have been able to change the Borg. There would be no alliance with the Gillian's, so they would be free to continue their conquest of neighboring sectors." Seven deduced "The Dominion would defeat the Federation and Kiligon Empire. We cannot allow that to happen."

"Damn right we can't!" B'Elanna shouted "If they succeed, I would never meet you. We need to stop their plan." Pausing she addresses the collective, "What are our options?" B'Elanna chose to let the collective make the plan. Several species had been using time travel and were better suited for the task.

_Send in the Ghost, he is a Terran from that time period. He has contacts there that will prove useful on the mission. He knows the society, and he will have the easiest time adapting. He will have a major advantage being familiar with the primitive technology of the time. With our technology, he can remain virtually undetected, as he researches the archives and data bases of the intelligence agencies in existence. _

"The Hive is right Seven. He is our best option. We'll need to upgrade his implants to the newest ones we have. He's like you in that regard, wearing his old implants with pride. He would stick out with the implant over his right eye and right hand covered in mesh." As she started to call for him a thought came to her. "Hey Babe you know he's not going to leave his wife behind, and you can sure as Gre'Thor, bet they have never seen a Kiligon before! We will have to send a team with them as well."

Sevens quirked her left eyebrow causing her optical implant to rise and tilted her head in her typical manner "Correct, for her to go, we will need to alter her features to human standards. It is something she has done before to go on missions. I will contact them now. I will also have the Hive assemble us a team of humans to send along with them."

"I would like to send some our friends from Voyager along with them. Tom Paris has always been fascinated by that time period, and if goes, Harry Kim will have to as well. Samantha and Naomi Wildman, will want to go as well. Hive do they meet your approval?"

_Yes our Princess._

Seven called Ghost and his wife, Sirella, to her conference room and explained the situation and his mission with its importance to this universe. For the first time, in what seemed like forever, he felt his face pale. One thought was running through his mind, _home_. The one place he thought he would never see again, long deceased relatives would be alive, parents, sisters, sons and grandchildren. This single thought brought the greatest warrior of the modern Klingon Empire to his knees. Sirella rushed to his side, and grabbed him in a crushing embrace, offering him what comfort she could. Wrapped up in his wife's arms he thinks back to how he got here.

His story and history was probably the strangest of all the drones. Ghost, the best operative the collective has. Even with the Borg's assimilated knowledge, there were still times where intelligence gathering missions were needed. Ghost is a human male who had been with the collective only a year and a half.

He was born on earth in the year 1960, enlisted in the Army at 19. He served with honor during tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Primarily a member of the Army's Special Forces, he was occasionally loaned to the Navy SEAL's. Several years into his enlistment, he was recruited by the CIA, but remained with his unit. He completed many covert missions with the Army's Special Forces and Navy Seals. He was awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars, along with other combat medals for his actions under fire. By all accounts he was the recruiting poster for heroes.

Then in June of 2007, his life changed forever, his unit had been tasked to provide tactical communications for a Brigade training to deploy to Iraq. While he was monitoring the communications site a temporal anomaly occurred and sent him into the future. The first thing he could remember when he woke up was the strange place he found himself in. He was having trouble adjusting his eyes, and his hand felt strange. Strange beings surrounded him; they had forehead ridges and long hair, dressed in some kind of weird armor. He was told they were Klingons, a proud warrior race bound by honor. With the help of Federation doctors that had experience with Borg implants; they removed what implants they could, and left the rest. After spending time with his human counter parts, he opted to return to the Klingon Empire. He loudly declared the humans in the Federation were weak, and had no honor, unlike the people he was used to serving with.

He put all his time and effort into studying the Klingon culture in hopes he would be accepted as a Kiligon. It was during his training that he met Sirella; they fell in love, and took the Great Oath. Throughout his training he continually bested his instructors. He was assigned to an Elite Special Forces unit. During a heavy ground battle where many Klingons were lost, he led his troops to victory. It was after this battle he was declared the greatest Klingon warrior of the modern age.

A few weeks after his unit's incredible victory, he ran a combat simulation program in one of the holodecks to further improve his skills as a warrior. When the training was complete he returned to his quarters to regenerate and reunite with his wife. When the cycle ended he found himself on Unimatrix 01 looking at the Borg Queen, Seven of Nine. Seven explained to him that he just materialized in the royal holodeck with his wife, a Kiligon, and had to be stunned after he disabled her two best Royal Guards.

He was assigned as a trainer for the Royal Guards. During one particularly grueling training session that was being attended by Seven, B'Elanna and Sirella, Kahless the Unforgettable appeared before them wielding a bat'leth and wearing the renowned Klingon armor, poised and ready to strike.

"Human what give you the right to call yourself a Klingon!" he asked a deep throaty growl erupting from deep within his chest.

Gabriel stood tall and proud before the greatest Klingon to ever live. He answered back, "I have completed The Rites of Ascension, the Rites of Passage, I have fought with Honor defending the Klingon Empire, I took the Sacred Oath with a Klingon Woman and was accepted into her house."

"You have been compared to me in Battle, Human; let's put it to the test. A friendly bat'leth fight, first one to yield does the others bidding."

"I do not need to yield to do your bidding, I do it with Honor."

Kahless turns to the people in the room, and looks directly into B'Elanna's eyes, "B'Elanna Torres, Daughter of Miral, Warrior of the Klingon Empire you have brought much honor to your house and my empire; you will be the judge of our battle. Seven of Nine, Annika Hansen, Queen of Borg; mate of B'Elanna you have also brought great Honor to my Empire. You made them see that Klingons should unite as a people not stay apart in houses. Sirella daughter of Mabli, house of Martok, Mate of Gabriel. you chose well for a mate. He is Klingon in every way but in body." Hearing their names said by Kahless caused B'Elanna and Sirella swell with pride knowing the Kahless the Great knew who they were.

"The battle begins now, human" Kahless growled and launched his first attack on Gabriel. It was a series of thrusts and parries intended to assess his opponent's skills. Gabriel matched him with defense, leaving small openings that Kahless could attack. Each time Kahless attacked Gabriel countered deflecting his blows with ease.

"Kahless you disappoint me. You couldn't kill a targh with the way you attack." During a bat'leth fight it was not uncommon for Klingons to hurl insults at each other. They believed it added to the fun of the fight.

"You have learned well, Human" Kahless snapped back with a growl of distain.

The fight turned more heated as the time past. For the people in the stands the two warriors became a blur of motion. There was no wasted energy as the two attacked or defended. One move smoothly transitioned into another, and only because of her Borg enhance eye, could Seven even follow blow for blow. The noise the bat'leths at some points became almost deafening, and on several occasions sparks could be seen at times when the weapons connected.

The fight had raged on for almost two hours with the insults freely flying from one combatant to the other, when Kahless made his final comment before getting ready to make his final assault, "I fought my brother for twelve days because he dishonored my house. You are chaos and disorder you cannot win" telling a member of the Borg Collective they were Chaos was just about the worst thing you could say.

Gabriel readying his bat'leth growled back, "You will not need to fight me for twelve days for I have not dishonored your empire. I AM Chaos because I am an American fighting man. I AM an American Soldier."

Gabriel and Kahless swung their bat'leths with as much power as they could muster. The blades flashed towards each other's heads with the intent of removing the head from the body. At the last split second he fighter changed to angle of the attack to make sure the blow would not be fatal. Both blades smashed together shattering them in two. The sound that was made on impact had more than one person in the audience just back in surprise. Both warriors looked at each other in admiration and exchanged the ritual head butt that often occurred after a friendly fight.

"B'Elanna Torres, we await your decision" Growled Kahless.

B'Elanna stood from where she had been sitting and took a long look around the room before addressing Kahless, "We have just witnessed the greatest bat'leth fight in the history of the Empire. It would not be honorable for me to pick a winner when the rule was the victor would be the one who forced his opponent to yield. It is my decision to declare the fight a draw between the two greatest warriors the Empire has ever had. Dun Suv Kahless and Gabriel."

"Seven and B'Elanna a great injustice is about to take place that will affect both my Empire and the Collective. Gabriel, you have not asked for greatness, but had it trusted upon you. The Queen and I both need you to stop what has already been put in motion. I cannot revel what it is to you, just know it will become known shortly."

"Kahless the Unforgettable, when I became Klingon, I took an oath to uphold all that being Klingon entails, including giving my life for the Empire. When the time comes, I will gladly bear this burden."

Sirella rose to her feet and joined her husband, "I am Sirella daughter of Mabli, Warrior of the Klingon Empire, house of Martok, Mate of Gabriel. I stand by husband as he answers your call."

Seven rose and stood next to her wife, "The Klingons are Honorable people and so is the Borg. You have our word as the Queen and Princess of the Borg, that we can and will offer any assistance we can to Gabriel and Sirella."

"Good" said Kahless as he bent down to pick up his broken bat'leth which became whole as the broken ends met. "Now we need to eat and drink! Bring me some Blood Wine" this time his growl was filled with amusement as a large table laden with glasses of blood wine and Klingon delicacies appeared "Gabriel, with the honor you have brought to my Empire I have will give you and your mate something that most Humans would want." He clasped Gabriel and Sirella on the shoulders and spoke softly into their ears. Their shoulders ached where he had touched the leaving behind a mark shaped like the first bat'leth. "You now bear my mark. You have been granted the gift of youth. I have returned you to the age of twenty five." He looked all the people in the room and raised his glass of blood wine. "QAPLA! Gabriel and Sirella my you bring great honor to my Empire.

Plans were made, surgeries completed, and soon it was time to head out. The small team that had been picked by the Hive would accompany them to supply support and maintenance on their Borg systems. They would find a remote uninhabited place to set up. Power was not a problem as they would use the Omega molecule as a power source. A small shuttle was modified to be used for the trip and also act as the home base. Once they cleared Unimatrix 01, they engaged the temporal drive, and headed back to the year 2003.

**The mission begins**

Due to the unique nature of the Gillian's ability to not only change shapes, but match the DNA of the species they mimicked, it rendered scanning for them almost impossible. The one advantage his team would have, was the Gillian's had to leave a bit of their DNA mixed with the human DNA. The team would need to use Ghost's knowledge of the time to get integrated into the American system. Getting a grasp on the language was the hardest part. Federation standard differed vastly from the English of the 21st century. Only Ghost had that knowledge, having spent almost fifty years in this time period. They assimilated several people of importance to gain classified information from. It was only partial assimilation, and once the information was assimilated they were returned to normal, only better. All the people they chose were suffering from terminal illnesses, so they programmed the nanoprobes to heal them and remove the genetic markers that were responsible for their conditions. With this information, it made it easier for them to start infiltrating the various intelligence agencies in the United States and around the world.

The team then began setting up small bases around the United States. They set up their communication network and began looking for any information they would find useful. The first thing they needed to do was get into the data bases of all the major intelligence organizations that existed. Once they had hacked into the intelligence system it was easy for them to search for the data they needed. During this time Ghost, using a different appearance began to get close to General Beckman of the NSA. After nearly 2 years of work they finally got a hit. Reports started coming in about a rogue group of spies calling themselves Fulcrum. Fulcrum, is one of the few words in the Gillian language that could roughly be translated to English. Fulcrum, in Gillian, meant _time change_. In mid 2007, they noticed an upswing in activity by Fulcrum. They also discovered a small team in California that was waging its own war against them. Not many details were in the system, just that it was a joint CIA, NSA team. They began tracing the communications until the identities of the team were known. It was a small team composed of two males and a female, reporting to Diane Beckman of the NSA and Director Graham of the CIA. On the 1st of September 2008, they felt they had all the information they needed to go ahead with their plan.

**A/N 2:** Dun Suv- great fight

Qapla- success


	4. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Prelude to the Wedding**

A/N: See Chapter 1 please review It can only help me get better as a writer. Thanks to BDaddyDL for his Beta work and fixing my mistakes.

3 Oct 2008

Several days after the party, the team's lives and dynamics took a drastic change. They had been called to castle by the General for a follow up brief on the Intel gleaned from the security tapes, and Chuck's latest series of flashes. Taking their seats around the table they awaited the General. Chuck was seated in the middle with Sarah on his left and Casey to his right. The screen flickered to life and all three agents passed out. Their heads were guided gently to the table by unseen persons. The General came on, and the sight she was greeted with sent cold tendrils of fear and dread up her spine. _Are they dead? Damn, I hope not. Why are they laid out on the desk?_

Her questions were answered in short order when Gabriel appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, accompanied by a woman she had never seen before. "Major General Beckman it is a pleasure to meet you again. I would like you to meet my wife Sirella" Gabriel continued before Beckman could speak. "I see you got that promotion you weren't expecting. You surprised me with your effective handling of the Bartowski issue. I am glad you did not try to push me. As your agents saw, it would have been a very bad idea."

"I may not agree with you, but I am not nuts. You got into and out of one of the most secure facilities we have. That would take more skill than anyone I know has." Her voice is flat and devoid of emotion.

"I said I would introduce myself to them on my time, and it's now that time." He stated with a complete lack of emotion "Your team is coming with me for a bit. Do not try to track them, or have us followed. Any attempt do so would be unwise, and end in the loss of the agents you send."

General Beckman knows she has one answer. "Alright, we'll do it your way. I do have a question for you about the mission you are sending them on. I heard how you and your wife dispatched those other agents, why do you need our help?"

Seeing her husband's eyes start to cloud over and become dark as coal, she knew what was going to happen if she did not defuse the situation. "Babe, you need to relax. If you're going to work with these people, they need to understand what's going on." Sirella said while giving Gabriel's hand a squeeze.

"You are correct." He grants his wife; turning back to the General, Gabriel began explaining "I need numbers, plain and simple. The organization we need to take down is large; it has people in many important positions. Some are in Government and the military and some are high ranking civilians. They are really good at blending in. We will need to get close to them to disrupt their plans. With the events of the other night, we are on the way to doing that. As I explained before, it will take time, which I have a lot of." He pauses to glance at the agents still laying face down on the table. "The team will not be out much longer, and we need to leave. I understand that while Casey and Sarah were at CIA headquarters, they supplied you with a group of candidates for their mission. Please send Casey and Walker the names of the agents and analysts you would feel comfortable working with on this mission. Let them make the final choice. Again, all credit will go you and your team. When this is over, you should be getting your third star. Gabriel out." After he was finished, he cut the transmission.

Sirella chuckled at this, asking "Why did you do that?"

"Easy, she reminds me of a Captain I know."

"If it's the same Captain I know, she just needs to get laid." this got a laugh out of Gabriel.

"Well, that's what the Queen said cured Janeway."

"Enough, we need to leave. I don't want to have to gas them again"

"Are you sure you want to play it this way?"

"I've done this to thousands before them. They need to be brought back to reality. I will be harsh but it's the only way it will work."

"Well you are the expert on these people," completed Sirella.

Sometime later, the three woke up at almost the same time. They looked at each other and were surprised to find themselves seated in large comfortable leather chairs. Chuck's eyes almost popped out of his head at the amount of electronics and computers in the room. He had never seen any equipment like this. Casey and Walker both wondered why they woke up with no ill effects of whatever drug they were given. Verifying with each other they were alright, they turned to face a large monitor. Well large being an understatement, it was huge, at least twenty feet by twenty feet. Standing in front of it with his back to them was a man. He stood about six feet tall broad shoulders; they could see the muscles rippling under his shirt. From his hair cut Casey assumed he was a Marine.

He paid them no attention, instead pulling up screen after screen of data. It was moving so fast the three could barely make out what it was. Finally, it stopped and pictures of Chuck's sister's place replaced the data. It was a live feed. They could see Devon and Ellie leaving and heading to her car. Sarah immediately went on the defensive, knowing she was still armed she began reaching for her knives.

"If your hand moves one more inch Walker, you'll be dead before you hit the ground!" growled the man, as he spun to face them. Sarah froze as she saw his face, never before had she seen such a feral look and ice cold eyes. It was Gabriel, she knew at that moment it was not an idol threat, she had seen him in action just days before.

Chuck seeing the danger to the love of his life, quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed. When Sarah looked up at Chuck he was silently imploring her to stop. Thankfully she dropped her hand, and faced her palms toward Gabriel in a sign of surrender.

"Relax Walker; you are too important to Chuck for me to kill you. Your death would kill you and Chuck, because we know he is not worth a shit without you." Gabriel's eyes had softened and his tone became lighter "I would like to congratulate you two on your upcoming marriage. It was an impressive proposal Chuck."

"WAIT, how did you know about that?" exclaimed Chuck.

"I have my ways, and that is none of your concern. As of now, you are under my protection, not the CIA or NSA. We are here to further define your roles in this mission, and get to know each other. Understood?"

"Yes" the three responded

"Major Casey, let's start with you. Prior service, decent record, nothing special there. You enjoy weapons and gunplay. Loss of life does not bother you. You'd follow orders even if meant killing Chuck. As long as it is for the greater good, correct Major?"

"Yeah" Colonel John Casey replied with a grunt. Before he could blink, a hand was wrapped around his throat, and he found himself standing on his toes struggling to breath. Chuck backed away with a shocked look in his eyes, as Sarah shuffled in front of him. Casey found himself nose to nose with Gabriel whose eyes once again had turned black as coal. Gabriel growled out "I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but let me tell you something you piece of shit. Where I come from a grunt can be taken as a sign of a challenge! DO YOU WANT TO CHALLANGE ME!" he screamed in a deep growl "because if you do, I will accept, we will fight to the death, and You. Will. Die. That fact is not in question, what is in question is; are you man enough to back up that challenge?" by now the growling had gotten less and Gabriel's breathing had slowed.

He plowed ahead "You are the worst type of person Casey, you have deluded yourself into thinking you are something special. You berate Chuck at every chance you get because he does not meet the standard you set. For this team to work you need to get over yourself. I have read your files, and back tracked the information in it. Did you know that almost twenty percent of you victims were innocent people?" Casey's eyes got wide at this. _I always thought they were legitimate kills _"Some of the people you killed were because they MAY cause a problem in the future. They have never committed any crimes, and simply because some terrorist, or other interested party may get to them; kind of like Chuck. To Beckman and her predecessor, you are nothing but a tool to kill whoever they felt might be a danger in the future. Do you feel good about that Casey, that you follow orders blindly?" Gabriel paused to calm down

"I know a bit about orders myself Casey, and the first part being is it legal, and I don't give a crap about greater good. When did the murdering innocents, for the greater good, become legal? Second, you have the right, NO, the DUTY to question your orders. This behavior stops here and now. If you want to work with this team, think outside the box, and question crap that does not make sense. You are getting a chance to be involved in something so important it pales anything you have ever done. So think about it." he released Casey and turned toward Sarah.

Sarah and Chuck were shocked to say the least. Seeing Casey manhandled was bad enough but hearing what he had done was not expected. Sarah started to get worried._ If he knew that about Casey, what does he know about me?_

Chuck knowing Sarah was next grasped her hand in support. She could see the unconditional support in his eyes.

"Walker your record is good as well. It shows you have well above average martial arts skills, are good at seduction, and use of knives. Don't be upset about the seduction comment. You deal with men, which means we're easy. A beautiful woman like you shows up and starts talking to us. For almost all straight men that means it's almost over. Throw in some booze, and a lets go to my room and bingo, game on. I never figured out why they wasted so much time teaching the female agents how to seduce a man. I just did it in fifteen seconds. You tend to get involved with you partners. One was even long term if I read your file correctly." "

Now about the parts, that like Casey, were hidden from you. You think after Graham saved your life. That he gave you a life, after that dirt bag of a father ruined yours?" questioned Gabriel.

"Yes that is correct" Sarah answered timidly _oh God how bad will this get?_

"Did you know a number of those missions you went on with Bryce were staged? The ones you were told 'By any means necessary'? Graham knew you would never just sleep with somebody you did not care about, so he set you up. The information you two received was mostly fake, to keep you participating with your missions. Why do you think it was Bryce never minded you sleeping with a mark to get the mission done? In fact, he encouraged you to do it, am I right? Most of them were friends or acquaintances of his from his time in the agency. That's right Sarah, good old Graham did nothing but whore you out, while some other team was getting the real bad guys, well if there were any. So like Casey, do you still believe in doing anything for the greater good? You weren't the only one either. He did it to most of the young female agents."

Sarah paled at the information, feeling sick to her stomach. The room began to swim as dizziness took over. She was doing all she could to keep from fainting. Chuck immediately wrapped his arms around her for support, whispering over and over how much he loved her and it wasn't her fault. By now tears had begun to fall from her eyes blurring her vision. She knew if it wasn't for Chuck, she never would have been able to get through this. Casey also looked shocked at this information, while Chuck had his own tears flowing because of what happened to his best friend and the love of his life.

Outside Chuck was being as strong as he could be. _I need to strong for her. That rat bastard Larkin made her a friggin whore. I knew she had slept with some of her marks because she thought it was her job. But this must be killing her. And the asshole Larkin first he screwed up Sarah's life then mine. And I almost wanted to forgive him. Well screw that!_

"That's why he tried to pair you back up with Bryce. I was appalled at what he was doing, so we took steps to make sure it never happened again. From this moment on Sarah, your days of flat backing it for the greater good are over."

_That mother fucker! How could he do that to me? He used me and turned me into a slut. He knew I hated sleeping with the marks. Damn how many times did I almost quit because of it. If he wasn't dead already I'd kill him. Thank you Gabriel you may seem cold and heartless, but thank you. _Sarah now gained a bit of her control spoke up in a shaky voice "How, how could you stop it? He was in control of all my ops until the beta intersect blew up and killed him?"

"Who do you think blew the fuckin thing up? Ask Chuck what the possibilities of a computer system creating an explosion that blows out an entire floor of a secure building. You people cannot be that dumb to think a computer did all that. Of course, we made it look like Fulcrum did it," Replied Gabriel.

"Now, before I get to Chuck, I have an offer for you and Casey" as he was talking he made his way over to a chair and sat down. "I know you two are Agents and are probably wondering how I know this. Most of the information was kept in private files that were heavily encrypted. Well, by your standards anyways." He let out a chuckle at this. "All of this was also included in the first intersect Chuck downloaded, just the cues were hidden. I have the cues that will unlock the files in the intersect, so I will give them to you. If you want, let Chuck flash on them. As I said, I have an offer for you two. My doctor can give you a shot that will erase certain memories, the ones that cause you the most pain. All you'll remember is the missions and that you completed them, just not the finer details."

Just then, Sirella walked in and headed to towards them and sat down next to her husband at the table. "I know this is hard on the three of you to accept, but it has to be done. With this mission you will be headed to places Casey and Walker have been before. We reviewed the cues that would cause Chuck to flash. He will know which missions were faked. He will see all the information on those missions. You two did things on those missions you never would have done if you knew the true reasons. We thought you, and I mean Chuck and Sarah, deserved to be happy together. We feared if you find out the information during a mission it could destroy your relationship."

_Ok, this is just getting to weird for me. _Sarah thought before asking her question "How did you know what we feel about each other? We never said anything to each other until the other day?"

"Easy, we have been following you three since almost the first day, so it was not too hard. Besides whom do you think pushed that Bitch Beckman into letting you two be together?" Gabriel chimed in. "You and Casey have a lot to think about so let's get to Chuck."

_Well I'll be damned _thought Chuck and Sarah at the same time_ he seems like a cold hearted bastard, yet he did this. His eyes get a spark when he sees his wife. So he's a nice guy , but I still don't want to piss him off._

"You want the intersect out of your head, you love your sister, and want to keep her safe. You also want to keep your friends out of danger, and think killing is wrong, because the person that may die has a spouse and children, right Chuck?"

"Well umm yeah. I don't like the thought of killing anyone even for the greater good." Stated Chuck in strong even tone. Yet he was unglued inside.

"Well Chuck let me be the first to congratulate you on being the most self centered bastard in the world." Gone now was the normal tone he had been using minutes before, and replaced by one as cold as dry ice, and just as likely to burn. "You have left the ones you love in constant danger by staying here. Fulcrum did not know it was you. They just knew someone was out there, and taking down Fulcrums' cells. You could have moved away or gone into a bunker. That would have kept them safe. But you were to self centered to think like that, you only cared about you. I'll miss Ellie, what about Morgan? I'll never see them again. When they ended up dead because you stayed, and they would have, what would you have done then. Seriously dude, Morgan?" he downs a glass of water before continuing on.

"What I can't understand is how your team was so successful? You work for a group of idiots. I'll explain what I mean. Sarah, you have been living in a hotel for the last year, you drive a Porsche which together is ok if you worked anywhere that pays more than minimum wage. You like the car, so what! Your only job here was to keep Chuck alive, not stick out like a sore thumb. At least they put Casey in an apartment. And you three geniuses couldn't figure that it screamed 'something is not right here' look at me!'"

"During the last couple of years we were keeping our eyes on you. Once we figured out what you are, we put some of our people on you Here's something you don't know. There have been almost forty attempts on your life. We stopped them all." he pauses to let this new information soak in. "Go ahead and argue if you want, but the bottom line is this. If you were working anywhere else, it would have taking much longer to connect the dots."

"Answer me this Chuck, all the people you love are on a boat rigged with explosives. The man holding the detonator is fifty feet away, finger ready to push the plunger. You can end it all with one shot. Do you take it or not? Do you let them all die to save one person that is going to kill more? Thousands died on September eleventh, would you have killed the terrorists that crashed the planes? Would you have let those terrorists live because they had families? What about all the families that would still have the ones they lost that day. That Chuck is what it is all about. You are a sci-fi fanatic do these words mean more now, 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' We will never have you kill a person in cold blood. But you can bet your ass if you don't kill the people we are going after they will kill you without blinking an eye. So when you get the chance you better kill them"

Chuck sat back still holding on to Sarah. He knew Gabriel was right, that sometimes taking one life was worth it, he just hoped he could do it when the time came.

Sirella asked in a caring voice to the other members of the team. "Sarah and Casey what is your answer, will you let us help you get rid of the demons that plague your sleep. Or do you wish to continue on suffering with these demons that threaten your sanity? ".

Chuck and Sarah still holding hands held a silent conversation with their eyes, before Chuck spoke "It's up to you. I will stand by you no matter what. I love you so much, and it makes me sick to think of what they made you do. I think it would be best for you to have them remove the memories." As he finished he gave her a short, but compassionate kiss that showed his love for his fiancée.

Sarah sighed, comforted by Chuck's words spoke "Ok, let's get these memories out of my head."

Casey was the next to respond "I may like gun play, but I never wanted to kill an innocent. I signed up to protect them. It pisses me off Beckman would use me like that. So I will do it also."

Chuck feeling brave added his voice to the decisions "Can you overwrite the data in my head so the cues go away? I don't have to know what missions they happened on, I already know they happened and that's enough for me."

"We already planned for that. Our people made a copy of the version you downloaded, and we then added a few extras of our own. They just make the flashes shorter and less painful. We have also a few tactical planning routines to the mix. Now if Sarah and Casey would follow Sirella; I will take care of Chuck. Sarah and Chuck looked back into each other's eyes as they slowly separated; both sets of eyes showing how much they wanted to stay close to each other as their hands slowly lost contact.

An hour or so later, they were returned to the room they first woke up in. Chuck being well, Chuck asked a question that had been on everyone's mind since they got here "Not to seem rude or anything, but uh where are we, and who are you? Well I mean, who do you work for?"

"I will answer the second part of your question first. I use the name Gabriel in public, and it is not my real name by the way. I chose it because of what it means. The Archangel Gabriel has been referred to as the angel of death in some religions, so it seemed fitting. I will also go by Ghost on some missions we do. Whom do I work for? Let's just say we are an independent contractor who wants America to stay strong and free like it is now. We want to make the sacrifices of the men and women that came before us to not be forgotten; for they deserve no less from us." All Casey could think was _Amen brother._

"You are at our west coast head quarters. We have a better one back east. But our main location is well hidden where no one will find it. We only go there when we need to." He didn't mention the eight hours a week of regeneration to recharge and replenish his Borg systems he needed. "I doubt you will ever see it. All the Intel we get, we send there to be analyzed. We are only looking for specific pieces of information. All Intel will go to your agencies to be processed. We will rely on it almost all the time."

Gabriel and Sirella motioned to the door as they escorted the trio out of the briefing room. "We need to get you guys back before Ellie sends out a search party for you. We have had you here quite a while. We have a limo waiting to pick you up and take you home. Chuck, you need to call your sister and tell her you'll be home in a couple of hours. Have dinner on the way home. Reservations have been made, and the driver knows where to take you. Enjoy your dinner. When we need you again, we will contact you. Follow Beckman's plans; she may be a bitch sometimes, but her plan is good. Besides, she knows one screw up, and her ass belongs to me!"

"I have one last question for you Gabriel," stated Chuck "Why the hard ass approach at the beginning? You could have explained in a nicer way." Chuck heard Casey grunt at this and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"It was basic training 101 Chuck. You three were to secure in who you thought you were, not who you are. I had to get you down what you each considered to be your lowest or most uncertain level. Then I can build you back to where you need to be. When I get done with you three you will be the best team this country has ever seen." Gabriel finished as he walked them to the waiting limo.

Just before they got there Casey pulled him aside and spoke, "Chuck and Sarah, I'll see you later. I want to speak with Gabriel for a second." When the two were safely in the limo he pulled out a cigar and lit it then was ready to continue when Gabriel spoke up

"That's one thing I have missed, a cigar."

"A woman is a woman but a cigar is a smoke."

"Casey you know you're the backbone of your team.."

"Yeah, yeah, you had to break us down and rebuild. I don't like it but I get it," Casey added in.

Gabe and Casey looked at each other and nodded as Gabe went back inside.

The ride home was quiet with Sarah and Chuck still reeling over the events of the evening. Sarah was amazed, at the turn of events. First, she found out that Graham had been using her and other female agents to entertain his friends. Then the revelation that all those bad memories could be wiped out, and they were. She thought back to all missions, and she could not remember sleeping with any of the marks. She had hated that part of her job, and now she felt like a new person. Her only concern was how Chuck would react to what they had heard. So far he had been great, offering his love and support. He had gone as far as having the intersect reloaded, so he could not flash on anything that would reveal to him what she had done. She loved him for that, and for so much more. She felt his arm pull her closer, and she snuggled into him brushing her lips across his neck as she felt him shiver slightly at the gesture.

Chuck was concerned about what had transpired back Gabriel's head quarters. First he learned how Casey had been manipulated into killing innocents, then about Sarah's past missions. Her CIA boss had basically made her have sex with his friends in the guise of getting information. What scared him the most was when he found out all the information was stored in his head. What impressed him was the offer to have the intersect reloaded minus those details, and have some additional goodies installed. He loved that idea. He needed to relax so he pulled Sarah a little closer and she allowed it and brushed a kiss along his neck. The kiss caused him to shiver slightly as she snuggled closer.

When the trio arrived at the apartment complex Casey took his leave, and went to his place. Chuck and Sarah sat by the fountain, where they had so many times before. Sarah broke the silence "I am so sorry you had to find out what Graham made me do. I swear Chuck, I never knew." She was close to tears in worry that Chuck would now see her as damaged goods.

Chuck, being Chuck, responded in the only way he knew how "Sarah, I knew what you had to do on some missions. And even though I had trouble accepting it at first, I did. You were carrying out your orders, believing it was another mission. You had no way of knowing what he was doing to you. I love you Sarah, completely and forever. So why don't we go inside and pick a date to get married. Hell I'd get married tomorrow if I could."

Sarah's head snapped up "What did you say Chuck?"

"Umm, well ...I'd marry you tomorrow"

"No Chuck not tomorrow, in two days! Ellie and Devon have off that day so we can drive to Vegas and get married! Let's go tell them!" Sarah jumped up and practically drug Chuck into the apartment.

Sarah flung open the door so hard it nearly knocked things off the shelves. Looking around for Ellie and Devon and not seeing them right away hollered "ELLIE, DEVON, get out here. We got news for you!" Chuck had never seen her like this,_ I thought she was all business in agent mode. This is worse, it's I'm a woman getting married mode._

_I hope I survive._

Sarah was on a roll and had to restrain her hands while waiting for Ellie to get into the living room, "You two have off in a couple days, so we decided to drive to Vegas and get married!"

The squeal that Ellie let loose almost broke the windows, and caused many small animals to run for cover. She ran over to the happy couple and engulfed them in a bone crushing hug at the same time "YES! We'll be there! Oh. My. God! This is great and so romantic." After she calmed down she asked "Are you sure, this is a bit sudden."

"Ellie I have never been so sure of anything else in my life ever! Even though we have been together for a short time, I have loved Chuck for so long. He has loved me even longer. Now that there is nothing stopping us from being together, why should we wait?"

"She's right Babe" chorused Devon as he was shaking Chuck hand. "You know what they had to deal with, so if they to do it in two days I support them. Ellie and I had a great day as well. We got called into the administrator's office and were told that Johns Hopkins called. They wanted permission to offer us jobs with them, and we have to let them know by Friday."

"That's what we were talking about that when you walked in. Devon and I would have been worried about you out there doing what you do. Now we'll be close enough to visit every weekend, but far enough to not impose on a regular basis. It's like we have a guardian angel!" Ellie added with a small squeal.

"More like an archangel" snorted Chuck, soft enough so only Sarah could hear. Sarah could only roll her eyes.

"Since we are getting married in two days, let's go pick our wedding rings tomorrow. Tonight we'll go out to dinner and celebrate. It's on us of course." exclaimed Chuck.

"Well that's settled; tomorrow when we go to work, we tell them we decided to take the job at Johns Hopkins. The day after we drive to Vegas and get you too married," stated Devon.

They spent the hour or so asking questions and giving answers. Out of the blue a thought popped into Ellie's head "I am so sorry guys. You just decided to get married in a couple days, and we are sitting here talking about things that can wait. We need to take you up on your offer of dinner and celebrating!" gushed Ellie.

"That's right babe. We need to get these two a drink, and let them relax" seconding the idea. They headed out to a restaurant, then to a club, and enjoyed a night of music and dancing. Pleasant conversations took place mostly revolving around the personal lives of the couple.

"Hey guys it's getting late and we have a lot to do tomorrow; so Sarah and I are going to head home, and get to bed. Good night guys." After saying good night, Chuck led Sarah back to Sarah's car, and headed home. When they arrived they headed straight to their room, and got ready for bed. The two got in bed, and burrowed under the covers getting as close as they could. "Chuck I may not say I love you as much as you say it to me, but I do love you very much. You are the kindest man I know. Thank you for being there for me, and not holding my past against me." She whispered to him.

"I could never do that to you. I plan to make you happy and get you to smile at least once a day for the rest of our lives." He kissed her good night and they both drifted off to sleep.

Morning came and found them wrapped up in each other. After getting untangled, they got ready for the day. Sarah had to head in to the castle to pick up the list of agents she would have to choose from. She would then give Casey the packet, and he would make his choices. The ones they both picked would be accepted, and then they would haggle about the rest. Once all the names were assembled, their pictures would be shown to Chuck to see if he flashed on any of them. If not they would accepted to the team.

Chuck and Casey headed in to the Buy More to talk to big Mike about quitting. Once that was done, Casey headed to the castle to check over the list of agents. After he made his choices, he compared his with Sarah, and after several hours they had the names to show Chuck.

When Chuck got done talking to big Mike he tracked down Morgan in the appliances isle. "Hey Morgan, what's up with you?"

"You know Chuck same old stuff, just a different day. I thought you had the late shift today? Why are you here so early?"

"I umm I need to talk to you, so I came by to take you to lunch so we can talk. Where do you want to go for lunch?"

"How about we go to the new steak place?"

"Sounds good to me. I cleared it with Big Mike to give you a longer lunch, so we can go now. So clock out, and let's go." Chuck was glad Morgan chose the steak place because he had to turn in the keys to the herder after he quit. They placed their orders and Chuck began "Morgan I got some good news yesterday. The job I applied for came through. It's on the east coast as a software engineer for the Government. So I quit today."

"NOOoo" wailed Morgan "Chuck you can't leave Buymoria, you can't leave me." This caused people to turn and look at them.

"Don't worry dude, I'll be back here on a regular basis, so I'll still be able to get together with you. Plus, we can play COD online. You still have those plans we made?" asked Chuck in a quiet tone hoping to defuse the earlier outburst from Morgan.

"There's more Morgan, Sarah and I are getting married tomorrow in Vegas."

"YES! Road trip, when do we leave? Where are we staying? This is going to fun. Wait till I tell Anna we're going to Vegas." And excited Morgan rattled on. All Chuck could do was shake his head._ This isn't going to be as easy as I thought_.

"Sorry Morgan you and Anna won't be going it's us, Ellie, and Awesome."

"But Chuck it's me! Your life partner!" Morgan continued to whine loudly.

"NO Morgan you're NOT my life partner, Sarah is. You are my best friend, and I love you like a brother. Sarah is my life Morgan. I'll always thank you for helping me get over Jill, but Sarah allowed me to love again. Without her, I would still be drifting along working at Buy More as the Nerd Herd supervisor. Because of her, I can be so much more. I hope you understand."

Chuck turned around when he heard a muffled sob coming from behind him. What he saw astounded him. Sarah was standing there with her hand covering her mouth and tears running down her face. Chuck stood and pulled her into a hug.

"What's wrong Sarah? You ok?"

"I'm fine Chuck; I just came over to say hi to Morgan during my break. What you just said to Morgan was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. I guess it makes it seem more real I just can't explain it."

Morgan stood up and moved to the couple "Congratulations Sarah, Chuck told me the good news. Seeing him now, you have been good for him. Sarah would you like to join us?"

"No thanks I'm gonna head back to work. You guy's enjoy the rest of your lunch." She gave Chuck one last hug and a quick kiss and headed out.

"Sarah really loves you man."

"Yeah Morgan, I know. I am one lucky guy. Let's finish eating before you're late getting back"

They finished their meal with Morgan asking Chuck for more information on his new job, how he proposed, and the normal stuff they talked about. When they finished, Chuck headed to the castle, and Morgan to the Buy More.

Chuck found Sarah poring over reports. She looked up and gave him a big smile, "Babe, I called the Jones' and asked them to reschedule the dinner until next week. I told them something important came up with one of your companies, and we had to go out of town. She understood and asked if next weekend was fine, and I said yes."

"Good idea, running off to Vegas to get married may not have been the thing to say. Speaking of which, I made reservations at the Bellagio for the five of us, three rooms of course." Chuck was laughing as he continued on "The last thing I need is a repeat of the shower scene. Plus, I want to spend my wedding night alone with my new wife."

"That sounds wonderful." Letting out a sigh "Casey and I finished looking at the files, and picking out the agents. All we need for you to do is check them out."

"Ok, hand them over, and I'll take a look. Ya know, take the new improved intersect out for a test drive, and see what it can do." Taking the folders from Sarah he set to work. He was part way through, when he flashed on one. It was nothing like before. _Man this is great no pain!_ "This guy is Fulcrum but just a low level grunt type. He won't have much to offer us on them. We should just have him picked up."

"Wait a second Chuck, you said you flashed, but I didn't see the usual signs" Sarah exclaimed.

"I know it was different, Instead of images just popping in and out quickly; they faded in and out smoothly and with more details. Kinda like when your computer shuts down. Also there was no pain or for that matter, any sensations. Just the data flow as it was. It felt like it took forever, how long was it?" Chuck really wanted to know.

"Chuck, I never knew you flashed, almost as soon as you looked at it, you handed me the folder. It seems Gabriel's version works well. You should continue on and see what happens if you have multiple flashes."

"The rest of them are ok." Chuck had finished up with the folders and hadn't flashed on anyone else. As they were finishing up Casey joined them.

"Bartowski, you get a chance to look over those folders yet?"

"Yeah I just finished them up. Only had one flash though, but it was impressive. I had no feelings at all, and Sarah never noticed I flashed. We were trying to get me to have multiple flashes to see if I react better than the last time."

"Why don't you try looking at old files that we have in the archives from cases we have closed." Casey suggested heading to the archive computer to pull up the files.

Chuck took his seat and started scanning the files as they appeared on his screen. Casey and Sarah were astounded as they watched him. Gone were the rolling of the eyes, glazed over expression, and the stiffened body they were so used to seeing. Instead, he just looked normal, like he was reading the screen. Casey noticed for the briefest moment that Chuck's eyes would move back and forth a miniscule amount. If you weren't staring at his eyes and looking for it, you would never notice it.

"How's the pain Chuck?" a concerned Sarah asked

"There isn't any, just like the flash earlier." Replied Chuck

"Casey why don't you send the names to Beckman, and let her form the teams? We need to get out of here to pack for Vegas, and so do you." Said Chuck

"Why would I want to go?" Casey was stunned

"Casey, you may not show it all the time, and you may not act like it, but I think you like us. If not that, at least respect us. We want you there." Chuck said with a small smile, knowing that was about as much of the Lady feelings Casey could handle.

Since it was still early, Sarah and Chuck decided to head out shopping to pick out their wedding rings. Chuck figured that since he had just got all his back pay, they should head to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Sarah had to explain to Chuck that since they were going to need new clothes for the upcoming mission, the CIA would be footing the bill. They checked out several of the stores there and made several clothing purchases, before heading into Harry Winston's.

"Hello, I'm Samantha, how can I help you today?" asked the sales person

"I sure hope so." answered Chuck. "We're looking for a wedding set"

"We have some very nice sets here. Do you have any particular style you are interested in?"

"Not really. My girl is very special, and I was looking for something unique."

"Ah I see. We may have just what you are looking for. Please wait here while I get something from the back." After several minutes, Samantha returned carrying a small tray containing two rings. "This set was made many years ago. It was designed by a couple who was already married for several years and wanted something to last a lifetime. Before they could get remarried, they were killed. The man called it an eternity set."

"Wow" they both exclaimed at the same time.

Sitting on the tray were two of the most beautiful rings they had ever seen. They were made of platinum, with a dull black design, resembling a Celtic rope design. The edges were in a scallop design, and very small green stones were interwoven in the black design.

"Why did he call it an eternity ring?" asked Sarah

"He designed the rings to join together after one of their deaths. Something to do with the black metal he gave us to mix in with the platinum. They join together on the scalloped edges. That way the remaining spouse has the rings for all eternity." Explained Samantha. "So just to be safe we have never let the rings touch, just in case what he says is true."

"What do you think Sarah?"

"I have never seen anything like them before. Like us they are unique, I say we get them."

"Ok, Samantha we'll take them. What's the damage?" inquired Chuck.

"These rings are very old and were a custom made, but in all the years we have had them nobody has wanted them. So how about you give us cost plus 500?"

The purchase was made, and as Chuck and Sarah departed the store Samantha called out to them "Congratulations on your pending marriage, may it be a long and healthy union."

As soon as the couple left the store Samantha pulled out her phone and placed a call.

"Talk to me Sam"

"They got the rings"

"Good, return to base. Nice work"

"Got it boss, see you in a few." And with that the call ended.

With the shopping done, and rings bought, they headed home. The couple enjoyed a quick ride home, stopping along the way to grab a bite to eat. The conversation centered on the wedding, and the plans for the upcoming mission. When the topic of cars came up, Chuck stated he wanted a Mustang, but Sarah argued that in keeping with their uniqueness, he should get a more powerful machine. Sarah suggested the Viper. Chuck remembered what Devon had told him about not arguing with the woman you love, especially when you know you can't win. So he conceded the Viper. Plus he figured it would be really fun to drive. Once they arrived at home they unpacked Sarah's Porsche, and finalized the trip to Vegas with Ellie and Devon. They then went to bed anticipating the day tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Wedding and New Team**

**A/N:** **Here it is. Chuck and Sarah get married, and meet their new team mates. We find out some more about Gabriel and his past. For those of you sticking around reading this work, we are coming to the end of the setup chapters. Starting next chapter the action picks up. Big thanks to BDaddyDL for his beta work and the shout out in his awesome work, Chuck VS His Heritage. **

At first light the entire wedding crew left for Vegas. It was a quiet and uneventful trip. They checked into the Bellagio and started looking for a wedding chapel that appealed to Sarah and Ellie. They checked out a few, and finally decided on A Special Moment Wedding Chapel, mostly because it featured traditional weddings, and it resembled a small church. It had been decided during the trip that Devon would be the best man, Ellie the matron of honor, and Casey would walk Sarah down the aisle.

As they were getting ready to begin Sarah pulled Chuck to the side. "Chuck, I know you worry sometimes about how I feel towards you. As soon as you asked me to marry you I put in the paperwork to have my name legally changed to Sarah Walker. So when we get married it will be completely legal in every sense of the word, not for the cover, not for the CIA, but because I love you, and living without you isn't living. "

Chuck was speechless. He never even gave a thought to asking Sarah to legally change her name. He pulled her in for a hug, and gave her a small kiss on the lips and thanked her.

The wedding party moved to the front of the Chapel sanding in front of the minister. As soon as they were all in place Sarah walked down the aisle where he handed her off to Chuck. And then the ceremony began.

the Reverend began "We are gathered here today in the sight of God and angels, and the presence of friends, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite Chuck and Sarah in holy matrimony.

Chuck reached up and brushed a falling tear from Sarah's cheek, and she leaned into his palm, mouthing 'I love you'. Behind her, Ellie blinked, trying to keep at bay her own threatening tears. She turned her head slightly and caught Devon's eye and received a reassuring smile, as if he were telling her that everything would be just fine. She nodded slightly and turned her attention back to the ceremony.

The Reverend continued, "Chuck and Sarah, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family and friends. We learn to love by being loved."

"As you travel through life together, I want you to remember that the true measure of success, the true avenue to joy and peace, is to be found within the love you hold in your hearts. I would ask that you hold the key to your heart very tightly."

The Reverend read from the Bible, "that in the beginning the Creator made them male and female,' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' So they are no longer two, but one."

Sarah reached over and clasped Chuck's hand in hers. She was surprised to discover that his hand was trembling as much as hers. They only had eyes for each other, as the Reverend continued, "Chuck, do you take Sarah to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, for richer and poorer, in sickness and health, forsaking all others and holding only to her forevermore?"

"I do," he replied firmly, granting her a dazzling smile.

"Sarah, do you take Chuck to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, for richer and poorer, in sickness and health, forsaking all others and holding only to him forevermore?" The Reverend recited.

"I do," she replied, surprised that her voice didn't tremble as her fingers were.

"May I have the rings, please?" The Reverend asked. Devon set the rings on top of the Bible. "May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken." He held the open Bible out to Chuck. "Take this ring and place it on the third finger of Sarah's left hand as you repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Chuck took the ring and slowly slid the ring onto Sarah's finger, repeating the vow. After he slipped the ring into place, he squeezed her fingers, lifting her hand to his lips for a quick kiss.

"Now, Sarah," The Reverend said, turning to her, "Take this ring and place it on the third finger of Chuck's left hand as you repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

She slipped the ring on his finger as she repeated the words. When she was finished, she echoed his actions by lifting his hand to her lips. Their hands remained clasped as the ceremony continued.

"Chuck and Sarah, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife in the name of the Lord and Jesus.. Amen. You may now kiss your bride."

Sarah leaned up and crashed her lips against Chuck's, giving him a toe curling kiss. It was so powerful, she had to grasp onto his shoulders to steady herself. She was so excited and nervous, that she wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to stand upright through the ceremony. They stood hugging each other for several minutes until the sound of a throat being cleared caused them to look up.

"Get a room you two!" said Casey who then continued on reaching out to shake their hands, "Walker you're the best partner I have ever had. Chuck you've come a long way from when you started out. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks." answered Sarah, with her eyes starting to tear up. She knew what it took for Casey to say what he had just said.

"Thanks big guy." Chuck chimed in.

It was only seconds after Casey's little speech when the couple was engulfed in a bone crushing Ellie hug. She had tears of joy running down her cheeks. "I am so happy for you too. Sarah, I know it's been a long time since you've been part of a family, so all I have to say is welcome to the family Mrs. Bartowski! I wish you both all the happiness you two deserve." Ellie sobbed through tear filled eyes.

With the ceremony over the group made its way out of the Chapel and split off into its own groups. Casey went his own way to play some of the table games; Chuck and Sarah went out take in some shows, as did Ellie and Devon. Chuck, Sarah and Casey had agreed to meet at 9 pm to check in with the General to see if anything had come up they needed to be aware of. The meeting with the General passed with no information of any importance being discussed. The General gave the team a couple of weeks so they could make all the plans for the move and to offer them help in finding a house in the Philadelphia. They also made plans to have Chuck's Viper purchased and delivered to the house. They also set up a date and time to have Sarah's Porsche picked up and shipped. The team agreed that this was the best course of action since Chuck and Sarah had plans in place to meet the Jones's. One of the biggest surprises came when the General offered to move Ellie and Devon as well. This was based on the fact that Ellie and Devon would be vetted with both the agencies to treat agents and other government officials.

With the meeting over, Casey headed to his room, and the newlyweds settled in their room where they began their first night together as a married couple. Their love making was not hurried or rushed. It was slow and tender, with each taking the time to explore each other; both secure in the knowledge they had finally gotten what they always wanted, but thought they could never have.

The next morning they made the trip back home and started on the plans for moving and selecting the teams. Because they had very little to do to get ready to leave, Chuck and Sarah only had to get their personal things together. Most of the large items in the apartment belonged to Ellie and Devon. Plus, the new house would come fully furnished and stocked. It would be a while before Ellie and Devon made the move to the east coast. They would have to find and apartment or house to live in prior to moving. Ellie and Devon would travel with the team when they moved, to look for a place to live.

Team Bartowski had returned to its normal routine after a couple of days, and they started to prep for the upcoming dinner with Jones and his wife. Chuck started his hand to hand combat training with Sarah, and his small arms training with Casey. A couple of days prior to the mission Castle Sarah's cell phone rang.

"Bartowski secure."

"Gabriel secure. Congratulations on your wedding Mrs. Bartowski"

"Thank you. What do you need?" Sarah did not even question how Gabriel got her number or how he bypassed the encryption on it.

"Straight and to the point. I like that. There will be limo coming to pick your team up in thirty minutes. Be ready when it gets there. We need to have a pre mission brief at our headquarters."

"We'll be ready for pick up in thirty minutes"

"Good. Gabriel out" and the call was disconnected.

Sarah wasted no time informing Chuck and Casey about the briefing and the pickup time.

"We need to inform Beckman about this briefing," stated Casey. Chuck wasted no time in setting up the video conference.

"What is it Agent Bartowski?"

"General we just were contacted by Gabriel and he has arranged a briefing this afternoon to plan our mission objectives. We wanted to keep you in the loop," replied Chuck.

"Thank you. When you arrive, see if I can be part of the mission briefs. I also have superiors I need to report to. Do you have anything else to report? If not, get to the briefing. Beckman out." And the connection is ended.

**Same time at Ghost headquarters**

"Status report" barked Gabriel

"Medical is ready. They will be given a full work up using the methods used in the current time line. We will also use our scanning techniques to look for potential problems that are not detectable by this time periods medical technology. I have altered some of our technology for Agent Chuck Bartowski. It will aid him in getting in shape, sharpen his reflexes and repair any damage his brain may have suffered by down loading the intersect. It will passively lower his guilt about having to injure or kill on assignment."

"Communications are ready. We will be issuing secure laptops with our best encryption algorithms. They will be compatible with our communications systems and the ones they normally use. This will allow them to contact us anywhere in the world. Finger print and retinal scans will be required for operation. The retinal scans will be passive in nature so they won't have any idea they are being scanned. Safeguards have been built in to insure that the information remains hidden from anyone but us. In addition, phones from this era have been modified to use our frequencies, and not depend on the networks currently in use. Our East coast team is ready to install the Generals computer system if and when it's needed. A phone has already been shipped to the General. The last of our goodies is the personal tactical communication gear, or ear wigs as they call it. It is virtually invisible to the naked eye and cannot be jammed."

"Tactical is ready. We have modified our tactical body armor to stop all bladed weapons and projectile rounds; up to and including the 7.62mm used in the AK-47. It appears to be the weapon of choice used by many countries and rebel groups during this era. It's a two layer suit, the first layer worn next to the skin and it resembles spandex of the time. It is used to disperse the force of the round in milliseconds, and helps control the body temperature. The outer layer resembles their normal mission gear and stops the penetration of the rounds and bladed weapons."

"Bio-sciences are a go. We have subcutaneous tracking and life sign monitoring devices ready to go. The one problem is the device must be placed the base of the skull near the brain stem. The devices cannot be found using the equipment available today. The one down side is they will need to be knocked out for the placement. The Doc has already agreed to do the procedure."

Gabriel gave a slight nod of his head in acknowledgement, "Nice work team. Our guests should be arriving shortly. Let's make them feel welcome." He turned and went to greet the team.

It wasn't long before the team arrived at Ghost's headquarters, where Gabriel met them at the door and ushered them inside. They were led to the same conference room they had been in before. Seated around the main table they saw 4 new people and Sirella. Sirella rose and offered them seats around the table and asked if they would like anything to eat or drink. The first thing Sarah noticed was that each person in the room was armed with a shoulder rig that held their pistol of choice. Second they each had some form of bladed weapon hanging off their belts.

"Gabriel, before we begin the briefing, we would like General Beckman to be present if that is possible. She is our commanding officer, and requested we keep her in the loop." Casey asked for his team.

"I don't mind at all, in fact I feel, she needs to hear most of the information I intend to pass on to you. Do you want to contact her now?"

"Yes. Chuck, use your laptop and get the General." As Chuck opened up his laptop to boot it up, Gabriel stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"That won't be necessary Chuck, just use ours. Just log the way you normally do to set up the video conferences you use." Offered Gabriel, while he was pointing to the desk beneath the mammoth monitor they had seen on their last visit.

Chuck rose up from his seat and made his way to the keyboard and rapidly type in the commands. In a few seconds the screen flickered, and the familiar white shield and blue back ground appeared and then the General's image. The three agents were stunned when this happened. Very similar thoughts swept through their minds. The first thing that worried them was Chuck was using Gabriel's computer to make the connection. To them it should not be possible. Secondly how good are these people? We have the latest and greatest security on our network. And the thought was _When the hell did the General get her second star?_

"General it's nice to see you again. This time under better circumstances than our last meeting" Gabriel started off, "I would like to introduce you to your Agents support team, and go over the team's new dynamics. Please save your questions until I have finished. It will save time in the long run." He paused for a few seconds waiting for any objections.

"First we have our Doctor" a middle aged balding man stood up and took a small bow, "he simply goes by Doc. You'll have to forgive Doc he's prone to theatrics, and can be a royal pain in the ass, but he is the best." Doc puffed out his chest and gave another bow before returning to his seat. "Next to the Doc is Elizabeth, our communications guru. She goes by Liz." Liz simply smiled and waved her hand. "Beside her is her wife, and our tactical person Cameron." All they got was a small nod of her head. "Finally, our Bio-Sciences expert Garry." The man acknowledged with a head bob.

As Gabriel was about to continue on, a loud very angry growl could be heard coming from a woman standing next to Gabriel. Several things happened at once. The four members of Gabriel's team jumped up and backed away from the table. Sarah, Chuck and Casey just sat there stunned at the noise and pissed off look on Sirella's face. They had seen a similar look before at the party where they first met.

They all knew it could not be good. Gabriel's head snapped to his right and his eyes locked on to his very pissed off wife. Fortunately for him he had been in this position many times before, and he knew exactly what to do. He reached over and pulled his wife into his body, and started nibbling on her lower lip. Soon her growling was turned into a soft purr, as she melted into his embrace. Sensing the change in his wife he gently pushed her away, but not before he made sure she was standing next to him and he had his arm around her lower back. Relief washed across Gabriel's team members, and they returned to their seats.

Gabriel turned his attention back to the screen to address the General again. "My apologies General, I forgot you never were introduced to my wife. General this is Sirella my wife and head of security."

"Damn Gabe, when are you ever gonna learn. You leave her out every time" laughed Cameron "one of these times she's gonna knock you on your ass."

"Stuff it Cam, the one time you forgot, you didn't get laid for a week."

"Yeah, but I only did it that one time, I learned from it Gabe, something you have failed to do."

"Wait a minute, you already met the general" said Gabriel glaring at his wife.

With that Sirella broke into a fit of laughter. "That was to funny, I finally got to put one over on you!"

"Ok. Ok, you got me on that one!" replied Gabriel as he joined in the laughter.

Sarah was wondering what the hell was going on. Just a few weeks ago she had seen the man standing before her kill men with a cold and calculated intent. She'd seen his cold and lifeless eyes as he threatened to end her life right here in this very room because he thought she was reaching for a weapon. Casey was another story; he remembered the look in his eyes when he was being lifted off the ground by Gabriel. He was wondering what happened to man he had seen before. And Chuck he wondered what rabbit hole he fell down. Nothing was making sense any more. The cold killer that scared the crap out of him was gone, replaced by a laughing person.

"ENOUGH" barked the General through the computer system. "Can we get back to the briefing please. I have other things to do beside listen to idle banter."

"Actually General, you don't." said a voice over the com link. The screen split and an image appeared next to the Generals. Casey, Sarah, Chuck, and the General all stood up. All four spoke in unison "Mr. President"

"Relax, and take your seats please. Master Sergeant how have you been? It's been a while; You need to stop by for dinner soon and bring your wife. Just don't forget to introduce her this time. The last time she tossed you like what five, six feet?"

Gabriel groaned and rolled his eyes, "Not you too sir?"

"As I was saying General, along with your promotion comes added responsibility. As of this moment, your main focus is operation Time Share. You are the lone person in charge, and answer only to me. Unless you hear directly from me, you are to stay the course. All assets we have are now yours to use as you need them. The directors of all intelligence agencies have been informed of your status. If anyone tries stone walling you, or fails to give you the information you need. Contact me immediately, and I will fix it."

The Presidents face turned grave, as he looks directly at each person on the screen, "We are at war people; not just with terrorists, but with a group that threatens the very existence of our great country. General, it's up to you, and the people in that room to make it happen. You three agents have been tasked by me to carry this fight to the enemy where ever and whoever they are. Make no mistake about it when I say this; the future of our great nation is resting squarely on your shoulders. Good luck and happy hunting." As quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

Three faces look blankly into the screen where the President was, just seconds before, taking in enormity of the situation they have been placed in. Breaking their musings a soft voice can be heard saying "Man Down." Turning quickly they all turn to see Liz; who is gently lowering Chuck to the ground his eyes closed, and his face pale and lightly coated in sweat. Sarah, rushes over to help. Casey just rolls his eyes _man this is gonna suck. He better suck it up._

"Don't worry Sarah, he just passed out. We need to get his feet up and wait. He won't be out long" the Doc informs her. About a minute later Chuck's eyes start to flutter, and he can be heard muttering "fate of the country, not me, nope, not gonna happen," and he passes out again.

"DAMN IT DOC what's wrong with him?" Sarah whispers almost like it was a scream at Doc.

"Will he be alright Doctor?" inquires the General.

"Nothing is wrong as I said before. You need to understand more about Chuck's brain, and how it works. I was going to explain it all later wh…"

"Get to the point Doc." Sirella commands adding a low growl for added effect

"Right, as I was saying, Chuck's brain is more unique then you know. While he is in the top five to ten percent of all people in the intellect department, he also happens to be at the top of the emotional department as well. From what I can tell his intellectual side has processed all the data on the severity of this task. He has calculated the odds of success and the devastating results of failure. His emotional side is overloaded by what will happen if you fail to achieve your goal. The results of those processes coming together overloaded his central nervous system causing a sympathetic result of all is voluntary muscles."

Five minutes later Chuck was awake, though still shaky, but deemed himself ready to continue. Chuck returned to his seat next to Sarah. She wasted no time in taking his hand hers to offer any comfort she could, short of hugging him.

The briefing continued with each of the department heads explaining what their equipment could do and why it was needed. The team balked slightly at having the tracking devices implanted. The loudest complaint came from Casey who claimed he did not want to be LoJacked. This got a laugh from Chuck and Sarah.

"General this concludes the technical portion of the briefing. We need to conduct the physicals and perform the implant procedures. They will then be fitted with their mission gear. The whole process should only take several hours to complete. Sirella has a team waiting to install your new communications equipment. They will explain the uses and capabilities. They should arrive shortly, please let your Aide know, so he can escort them in."

"When should we reconvene to plan the upcoming operation?" asked Beckman.

"Give us three hours and call back. The techs should be done by then. Oh, one last thing General. We can provide you with a smaller computer system for use in your house if you wish."

"I think that would be a very good idea. I'll let the techs know when they get here when a good time is."

"Roger General. I sent a small token of my appreciation along with my techs. You should give it to Jennifer, she's been waiting a long time, don't you think?" and he cuts the transmission.

When Gabriel turns back from the monitor he is greeted by the three surprised faces of the intersect team. "What, she's been with Jenifer for over twenty years. I think it's time the stubborn old bird made it official as she can." Gabriel says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me that the hard ass, General Diane Beckman. The same one that keeps asking me if I have feelings for Chuck, has been in a relationship for over twenty years? And to top it all off she's a lesbian!" asks Sarah in a voice filled with anger.

"Yep. Before we get to far off course, we need to get your physicals done, and the implants taken care of. We have a lot to do, and not much time left today to do it. I really hate to work past five." Gabriel quipped.

**Flash back to earlier in the day**

"Are you ready for Chuck, Doc?"

"Yes, but I still don't like it."

"It needs to be done, he's a physical wreck."

"I still don't like it."

"It will just get him where he needs to be faster, just slightly faster and stronger than a normal human. Look, it will not affect Chuck's mental aspects."

"You can't make him perfect you know."

"Wanna bet? I am Borg, it's what we do. The fate of the entire universe relies on the successful completion of this mission. Make it happen Doc."

**End flash back**

The Doc called each member of the team back to see him in the examining room. He called them one at a time, and conducted his examinations. While the other members of the team were in with the Doctor, the remaining members visited with the Gabriel's team**. **Once the implants were in place, and they returned to the main briefing room, they were amazed when they saw their vital statistics being displayed on the massive monitor. Chuck, always the Nerd, decided to test the equipment so he pulled Sarah into a hug and started making out with her.

_Wow, I could get use to this new Chuck!_

After several minutes of a very intense make out session; Sarah was left thinking if they could slip into one of the back rooms for a few minutes. They turned to the monitor to see the results. Sure enough though, they showed their elevated heart rates and other related information.

Sarah was lead to one of the back rooms by Liz and Cameron to be fitted for her tactical suit. Casey and Chuck were taken back by Gabriel and Gary. They returned again each wearing their new mission clothes. They were hard pressed to believe that a set of spandex underwear and regular clothes could stop a knife or a bullet. Casey decided to voice his concerns in a way only he could.

"Look you have shown us some pretty interesting things, but if you want me to believe that these rags are gonna stop an AK-47 round your fucking nuts." _Fuck me!_

Chuck and Sarah watched in horror as five separate weapons were un-holstered, aimed and fired all in a matter of seconds. The rounds impacted Casey in the dead center of his chest. Casey was knocked back a foot, but remained standing. The five rounds that hit him clattered off the floor where they landed after bouncing harmlessly off the mission gear.

"CASEY!" was yelled almost in perfect harmony from Chuck and Sarah as they bolted towards their partner


	6. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: First Mission**

**A/N: This is more or less a continuation of chapter 6. Chuck and Sarah go on their first mission under Gabriel. Thanks to AdmiralSeajay who betaed this chapter and to BDaddyDL for helping to fix some of my plot issues. These guys are just awesome at what they do. I still do not own Chuck or STV or any of the Characters that appear on the shows. **

Gabriel and his team stood there laughing their asses off before he could finally get out "Care to change your mind? If not, I can always get an AK from the back and show you!" When he finally got himself under control he motioned for everyone to take their seats.

"Casey are you ok?" asked Sarah with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That body armor is great. I felt like someone pushed me hard but that was it. It didn't even knock my breath out. I don't know how it works, but it does. You should try it," Answered Casey with a whole lot of excitement in his voice.

Gabriel began to speak, "We have a lot to go over before the General joins us in a little under an hour. I would like to clear the air a bit before we get started. When we met the first time I chewed your asses. Casey, you should have seen that tactic from your training. I just used a variation of the basic training approach. Instead of breaking you down and building you back up; I scared the shit out of you to get you to listen. You and Sarah are to set in your ways right now. We are going to change that, starting today. Chuck you have no real way of doing things so we are going to give you one; a way that will work for you not against you. Gone are the days of seduction and busting heads. There will be missions you will be tasked to eliminate a cell or a group of agents, but it will be done smartly and with plenty of backup in place. No more heading in without more fire power than you could ever want."

Gabriel paused to take a sip of water then continued, "We feel one of the main mistakes that is being made is trying to get the Fulcrum agents and elders. Casey, what happens if during a battle if the senior NCO gets killed?"

"That's easy. The next ranking person takes over and the mission continues." Casey replied

"EXACTLY!" Gabriel exclaimed enthusiastically. "If you kill or capture a Fulcrum elder or an agent there will be someone to take his place. Fulcrum is not like the CIA or NSA. They can and they do pull some of their people from the criminal element in this country. Your agencies don't do that as a rule. What we are going to do is remove as much of the funding as we can. Face it, without money and supplies any organization will fall. That's where you and Chuck come in. You will feed the information back to us and we will send it to Beckman to be analyzed. Then several months later we will send in teams to arrest the guilty parties. We plan to wait that long so it will be hard to place you guys in the vicinity. Do you understand what will be expected of you most of the time?"

"Yes we do." Sarah answered for the team.

Gabriel continued, "I have a few rules that I go by when on a mission. I won't discuss them all now. We will have plenty of time for that later. My personal belief is that a good undercover operative goes in and gets out without ever being noticed. You may even at one point be taken in with the people we are after."

"Your new mission parameters have been discussed. You need to understand these are not hard and fast rules and can be changed at anytime you see fit. Sarah and Chuck you need to understand from this moment forward you are the two most important members of this team. Chuck because of the intersect and Sarah because as I said before, Chuck would be lost without her. You are going to be using technology that no one else has. Chuck the thing that makes you so special is that the information transfer is almost instantaneous. Even with our computers it takes time to get the information back and forth. You can make the decisions right there. Do you have any questions for me?"

"You said earlier today that when you first met us you object was to scare us to death, and trust me it worked. But which personality is the real you?" Chuck really wanted to know.

"That's a tough question. For the most part around my close friends I am like how you saw me today. When on a mission I am defiantly like I was when we first met. Don't get me wrong even on a day like today I'd kill you in a heartbeat and not lose any sleep over it. For now let's just say we're friends and leave it at that." Gabriel replied.

"Ok, I really want to stay on your good side." Chuck conceded.

"Beckman is back," Called Garry from the other room.

"Let's go troops, our fearless leader awaits!" said Gabriel, who was already on his way to the main conference room. "General, again welcome back. What have you got for us?"

"Nothing much is new for the upcoming op. Just continue to get closer to the Jones's," The general instructed. "If possible, set up a business meeting to discuss a business venture. If you can get close enough, maybe you can get into his inner circle of friends. That's where the big payoff will be."

"Understood General. We spent some time going over our new SOP's and despite some minor issues, we have come to an agreement on them. I will send you and edited transcript of our briefing and a word of warning don't be shocked when you see Casey get shot, as you can see he is fine. Before I go General by the look on your face I take it your afternoon went very well."

_Look on her face? She looks the same as she always does. _Sarah thought.

Chuck's musings were much the same, _Huh, looks like the same pissed of expression to me. But after the shit that happened earlier today if he says the sky is green I say YES Sir and move on. _

To the astonishment of Team Intersect the General's face softened and a big smile was on her face. It made her look ten years young and infinitely friendlier. "She said yes, and then showed me how happy she was, many, many, times" as she completed her answer with a sigh, the Generals body gave a little shudder at the memory of the afternoons passionate activities. _After glow aftershocks gotta love em!_

_EWWW_

_Brain bleach, I need brain bleach_

_I did so not need to hear that. That killed the mood from this afternoon._

"Congratulations General, I would like to wish you and the wife-to-be a long and prosperous life. Send us an invitation, we would love to attend," Gabriel smiled.

"We will, I assure you. Jennifer wants me to pass along a message: 'thanks for getting her head out of her ass' so there it is. Thank you from both of us"

"Agent's and General, I need to get serious for a moment. Nothing that happened today can ever be discussed with anyone, not even the President. There are only four people not on my team that know about the items we discussed and used here today; and you are all at this meeting. This is no idle threat, if one shred of what occurred today ever gets out I will personally kill each and every one of you. I won't care who let the information out. Am I understood?"

Gabriel looked at the team and saw that his message had been received loud and clear. _Good, maybe I won't have to do it._

"Understood, Beckman out"

"Not a problem for us." was Casey's response for the team.

"Now where were we before the General called?" Gabriel asked.

It was Sarah's turn to ask a question, "You claim to know a lot about the business and I am sure you do. Who do you really work for?"

As soon as the question was raised the four department heads excused themselves from the room and headed out. Sirella grabbed her husband's hand anticipating a blow up of major proportions. He merely closed his eyes took a deep breath and counted to ten. He opened his eyes and began to speak. "operation Swan Song….operation Stinging Sword…operation Delilah….operation Black Rose…..operation Swarm…..agent Thanatos….. Sirella, get into the Army's data base and pull up my records."

Chuck was flashing like a mad man on acid. Images were flying in his mind faster than ever before. Sarah's Missions were operations Swan Song, Delilah and Black Rose. During each one she had been captured and rescued. Each time she had been close to being tortured but saved just before it began. Casey's missions were Stinging Sword and Swarm; one was a black op that went south and got him trapped and almost captured, the other his unit was pinned down with no communications and running low on ammo. None of the flashes contained information on how the rescues took place or who the Agent or Agents were. Agent Thanatos revealed nothing. No identifying pictures no mission reports just entries like Swan Song..rescue..successful, Delilah..rescue..successful, and Black Rose..rescue.. successful. There were others that in place of rescue there was passive assist. The same was true for Casey's operations. Chuck could see that this agent was so far above them and any other in any agency, it was almost laughable. He knew his partners were good, but this agent made them look like amateurs. _No offense Sarah_. Realization hit him like a lightning bolt. Agent Thanatos was almost single handedly responsible for his wife and Casey being alive today. He vowed to find this Agent and give him the thanks he deserved.

Hearing the names of her worst missions caused the memories she had been able to suppress to come flooding back. She could feel her face getting flush and her breathing quicken. She wondered in that moment why she did not ask to have these missions scrubbed as well. She looked over and saw Chuck had finished flashing and was giving her a small smile in spite of the tears slowly making their way down his cheeks. Her insecure mind was racing a mile a minute screaming at her that this was the end of the line. No more Chuck, goodbye to cuddling on the couch on lazy days. The house and kids vanished in a puff of smoke to be replaced by visions of a broken woman alone in a desolate house. Through tear filled eyes she watched him get up from his chair and start walking. She was sure he was heading out, to get as far away as possible from the loser Agent that she was. Then she noticed the impossible start to happen, Chuck was not heading towards the door but to her. He stopped just in front of the chair she was sitting in and reached down. He gently took hold of her hands and pulled her up. His hands slid up her arms toward her shoulders and finally came to rest on her back. He pulled her towards him till their bodies met, then he hugged her. She hugged him back knowing that this moment would be frozen in her mind's eye forever. It was the moment that Sarah Bartowski accepted that Charles Irving Bartowski loved her. Every doubt she still had hidden, every worry she had that this fairy tale would end disappeared. She finally accepted that she is allowed the happiness that she has found with Chuck.

Casey was in awe of the record of the man on the big screen. Multiple combat tours, silver and bronze stars with V device for valor, Navy Cross awarded while serving with a Seal team and the Soldiers Medal for taking a bullet meant for the President while serving on his protection detail while in Iraq, Purple Heart times two, Ranger tab and the list went on. Casey finds an added page that has a picture of a tattoo, a skull with a dagger running down the center and a ribbon wrapped around it containing the words _Death Before Dishonor,_ but no picture of the soldier. His rank is Master Sergeant. Casey hopes that one day he will get a chance to meet this Soldier. His hopes were dashed when he read that the soldier was declared missing and presumed dead on 14 June 2007. Casey also remembered the missions Gabriel listed. The unnecessary loss of life caused by bad intel and piss poor planning by a commanding officer. To this day he didn't know how he got out of both messes.

Gabriel gave the group a few more minutes to collect their thoughts and compose themselves. Sirella returned to her husband's side and sat on his lap, hugging him tightly. She understood what it had taken him to get this far, to be here at this point in time knowing that his family is still alive yet he can't see them. They had talked about this very thing, letting the intersect team know who he really is, because as he put it, 'how can you expect them to work with me and follow me if they have no idea who I am or have doubts about my skills and knowledge?' She could feel him starting to move, so she gave him a quick peck on the lips and allowed him to rise. She still kept her arm around his back because she knew he drew strength from her.

In an attempt to lighten the mood Gabriel asked "Hey Chuck care to share with the class?" He did not get the reaction he had hoped for as the trio just stared at him, so he pushed forward. "Tell me what the flashes showed you."

"Three of them were missions that Sarah was involved with that went sour and she was capture and almost tortured," Chuck said through a shaky breath, "two were of Casey's operations that also went south. And the flash on Thanatos was weird. All it showed were mission names what type and if it was successful. I did find out that the intersect allows me to collate data. It grouped all the missions by agent and time. I will never be able to thank Thanatos enough because he is the one who saved my wife and Casey."

"Sarah tell me about operation Black Rose" requested Gabriel.

"Besides it went to hell in a hand basket? It was in June of 2006 and I was teamed up with Bryce Larkin. It was a fairly straight forward op. We had to find out who was selling our weapons to some radical group in southern France. The op went off without a hitch until the end. We had the names and drop locations and were ready to pass the information on when we got ambushed. Bryce got taken down first then me. It happened so fast neither of us could draw our weapons. When I woke up I was half naked and tied to a chair. To huge men were in the room with telling me how much fun they were going to have over and over again. They said that their friend would be there in a minute or two to start the fun. After a few minutes a man came in all dressed in black wearing a mask. Next thing I know both of the big guys are dead with throwing knives sticking out of their necks. He got me loose, handed me my clothes and walked me out. We must have passed twenty dead men as we left the building. There had to be a small rescue team with him because nobody alone could have gotten in there. Next thing I knew I was at the airport and heading home. The other two are about the same but it was a different guy each time." Still shaking she turned to Chuck who has been holding her hand the entire time, "Sorry Chuck but I think maybe Thanatos is the name of and extraction team and not a single agent. Bryce explained later that he had gotten away and called in an extraction team."

"Casey what about you?"

"I was running a black op in the mountains of Afghanistan. We'd located the hide out of one the leaders of an insurgent group. Our intel said the area was clear and should be an easy snatch and grab. FUBAR was more like it. The intel was bad and we got hit hard. I lost four good men that day. We were pinned down and there was no extraction plan for us. We just waited it out, hoping to take out as many as we could. The small arms fire finally stopped and we were able to get out. We found one body on the way out. The head had been cut off. There was a knife lying beside the body and one of my men picked it up. When we got home my team had it made into a plaque and presented it to me. The other event was similar except my commanding officer screwed the pooch. Lost some men and got out. That's it."

"Ok babe it's time, are you sure you want to do this?" Sirella asked.

"As sure as I am ever gonna be. And so it begins," after a slight pause he continued "In Greek Mythology, Thanatos was the daemon personification of Death; Gabriel the bringer of death. Are the lights coming on yet?"

"That's not enough for me. I need proof. Chuck says that Thanatos saved my life three times. I need to thank them if I can," Sobbed Sarah.

"When you woke up outside the airport in France, you were in a cab. It was driven by a Polish man. He talked to you in Polish and told you your ticket would be under the name of Elly May Clampett. He handed you your papers and right before you stepped out he said 'keep your bony ass safe' And then patted you on the right butt cheek. Sorry Chuck. The one thing that was left out of the intersect was the real reason for the mission. Whenever Graham wanted to have an agent removed permanently he would send them on a fairly easy mission then leak the agent's description and location. All of these ops had Black in the name."

Sarah nearly flew out of the chair towards Gabriel to engulf him in a hug. Chuck could only mumble _thank you_ over and over. Casey could only sit there and take it all in.

Gabriel pried himself away from Sarah and continued on, "Chuck I have one last thing for you to flash on." He took off his outer shirt and rolled up the sleeve on his tee-shirt. While Chuck was flashing, Casey recognized the tattoo from the records he had reviewed earlier.

Chucks response was simple "Thanatos"

Casey's response was a little more dramatic and a little more reverent, "Damn, I wondered earlier why the President called you Master Sergeant. You took a bullet for him in Iraq. You're a fuckin' hero. I read about you several years ago when you saved the President's ass. Your picture was never printed so I could not make the connection."

"Thank you and you're welcome. So, Agent Sarah Bartowski, do I have the needed skills and qualifications to be a part of your team, or should I just let my team handle it? Feel free to check any information you want with the General. Hey Sirella, that's not a bad idea. If I let the team handle it we can just hand out and have sex all day!"

"Lovely idea honey, buut.. no. Besides you would be bored within a week."

"Gabriel, why do all your code names deal with death? I saw what you did for Beckman today. Plus I know what you did for Sarah and I, making it possible for us to get married. I just don't get it." Chuck felt like he really needed to know.

"It easy Chuck. Fear, when you hear my name I want you to know _what_, not _who _is after you. It's what I do and I am good at it. Before you get your panties in a twist let me explain. I am a cold blooded killer and I do so without remorse. I have never lost sleep over any of my kills. Am I emotionless? No, I feel sorrow when people I know and love die. I am saddened by the fact that I have a family I have not seen in a very long time because they think I am dead. I feel joy when people I know get married or engaged. I have never killed anyone that I didn't think should die. I kill drug dealers, murderers, gun runners, terrorists; not the average guy off the street. Nor will I kill somebody who one day may kill someone. I know it's hard for you to understand right now but I know Casey and Sarah agree with me. What I do is hard and unforgiving, that much is certain. That's the main thing we have to work on with you. Never go into a gun fight armed only with a knife. I think that will do it for today. Good luck on the op. Our driver will take you home." With that last comment he turned and walked away leaving the team to gather themselves and leave.

Chuck and Sarah were getting ready for their get together with the Jones's and discussing the remaining plans. Sarah was more apprehensive than Chuck had ever seen her and he wondered why. "Sarah what is bothering you?"

"This will be only the second time I have gone on an op like this without a weapon. I know there is a team as close as they can be, but I know firsthand how fast an op can go south. I have had enough of them thank you very much."

"You need to relax. Sarah I trust you with my life, but more importantly I trust your life with Gabriel and his team. He saved you three times so I don't think he would let anything happen to you now."

"You're right about that." Sarah finally agreed, "I guess I'll get used to it after a few more ops."

"I'm really excited about tonight." Chuck grinned.

"Why? The op should pretty much be a snoozer. You've been on plenty of missions before. What makes this one different?"

"Halloo, nerd here remember? I get to play with all the new toys we just got!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and gave him a playful swat on the arm.

"Hey, you two get a move on would you?" Casey's rough voice was heard over their ear wigs. "You don't want to be late after you've blown them off a couple of times. I'll be outside the restaurant waiting"

"Roger Casey, we'll be there in a few. Come on Chuck lets go." Sarah motioned for him to follow her.

The new Communications equipment allowed the surveillance van that Casey was in to be as far as five miles away. He was already in place. Once in the car they did a radio check.

"Watcher, Bluebird up" Sarah said as she started the car and began to head to the restaurant.

"Sparrow up. How come I got Sparrow anyway?" Chuck complained

"Watcher, I'll explain it to Sparrow later. We've departed the bird house and are en route to the feeder."

They met up with Jones and his wife at the restaurant where they enjoyed a nice meal and pleasant conversation. Chuck listened intently to everything Jones had to say, hoping something would cause him to flash. They talked about everything from stocks to possible joint business ventures. Sarah was actually having fun talking to Jones wife. Dinner went longer than the two couples had planned so Jones said, "Instead of cutting the evening short, would you like to come back to our place? I would really like to see if Chuck is as good at gaming as he says he is ."

"Tony you are so on!" Chuck said excitedly, but then realized his mistake. "Well um, if it's ok with Sarah?"

Blair gives out a small chuckle, "You have him well trained I see. It took me forever to get Tony to ask if he could leave me alone to go play games."

"Men" Sarah said with a shrug. "Sure babe we can go. We can't stay too late; you have an early meeting tomorrow."

With the plans settled they departed and headed to the Jones house.

"Watcher did you copy last?"

"Roger, Bluebird, keep an eye on Sparrow or you may not get him to leave."

"Understood Watcher, Bluebird out"

"Guardians, Birds are leaving the feeder and heading to the wolf's den. Will advise when the birds are in the den, Watcher out."

Chuck and Tony were in the middle of a heated battle in the game and Sarah and Blair were discussing fashion tips. Blair figured since Sarah was a former model; why not pick up some tips?

"Damn Tony, this is almost as bad as the party you had."

"You're not kidding there. I have no idea what my former partner was thinking. I fired him and he said he would get even and had the connections to get it done. I'm just glad I got out of there when I did. I heard it was a blood bath."

"Thankfully I passed out from drinking too much. I thought you said it was your business, you never said you had partners. When I research a business for possible opportunities I usually try to link up with companies that only have one owner. It gets me more money." _This financial stuff must have been one of the extras they put in._

"I wasn't until about six months ago. I caught my ex partner sending money to some charity, I think it was called CFCB."

Chuck flashed on the initials. "I never heard of them, but when I saw the amounts he was depositing I flipped. He had receipts and all but it was way too much to claim. So I severed ties with him. They haven't seen a dime from me since."

The two wives were wondering how they could play the game and discuss business at the same time. They decided it must be a man thing.

"That must have been a shock. I don't want to pry but what's your ex partners name? You know I'm trying to expand my business interests out here and I would hate to get screwed like you did."

"Brian Wells, a friend of mine from Michigan State." Chuck flashed on the name. "When he bought in to the business he asked not to be put on the official papers. It had something to do with a conflict of interest."

"Conflict of interest, that doesn't make any sense." Chuck gave Tony a confused look, hoping to draw him deeper into the web he was weaving.

"Have you ever dealt with the government before?"

Chuck gave him a little head shake.

"We were planning on bidding on some building contracts with them. Brian claimed that since he used to work for them and still had friends there it would look like we were given information on the other bids. Since it wouldn't affect my business I just left it off. Shit, I just got wasted."

Chuck gave Sarah the signal that he had some information. Sarah caught it and began to stretch and yawn.

"Chuck I'm tired, are you about ready to leave?"

"Let me help Tony put the games up and we can head out."

On the way out the couples decided they would get together the next time Chuck and Sarah were in town.

"Watcher, Birds heading to nest ETA twenty minutes. Sparrow has caught the worm and will feed Mother Hen at nest. Bluebird out."

"Roger Bluebird, will relay ETA. See you at the Nest."

Thirty minutes later the intersect team with along with Gabriel and Sirella were sitting around the conference room table waiting to contact the General. The twenty foot screen flickered and came to life. The image that appeared on the screen set off several different reactions. Two broke out in hysterical laughter, one grunted in disgust, and two of utter disbelief. Displayed before them on the mammoth HD screen was a buck naked General Beckman and her equally naked fiancée Jennifer who was happily feeding the General grapes via her lips. To Chuck, Casey and Sarah, who were frozen place by the scene before them, it seemed like hours before they saw Jennifer start to move. Chuck would later say it was like watching a train wreck happen, you know you should turn away but you can't.

Jennifer was now pointing at the screen when she calmly said, "Diane, you left your fucking computer on again."

This snapped the General out of her reverie. She had been nibbling on her lovers' neck just seconds before. She froze when she saw most of her team members looking back at her. Thoroughly flustered, she did the first thing that came to her mind. She ran to the computer and started hitting the keys to shut it down, which of course, gave her team an even better view of her nakedness. Jennifer, who seemed incredibly calm during the entire episode walked over to the computer and nudged her lover out of view. "Can you please call back in about ten minutes? Apparently neither of us knows how to shut this thing down. Thanks." Then just as calmly, she turned and walked to the bed and got in. Thankfully for the team the General did not make another appearance. Gabriel finally cut the video feed and turned to his team mates.

"Well that was interesting don't yah think?" turning to his wife he began laughing again "That has to be the funniest thing I have ever seen."

"No way in hell. Remember when we went to the lunch room with the Boss and her wife, and we caught Kath and Roe in the act on the table, Kath rolled off so fast that Roe's hand got caught and she broke three of her fingers? Now that was funny!"

"Oh yeah I forgot about that." He continues laughing only harder "I got another one for you, when Harry and Tom were in.." he was abruptly cut off by Casey who along with Sarah had gotten back their control while Chuck was still working on getting his back.

"STOP IT for the love of all that is Holy stop!"

"Would that be Smith and Wesson or H and K?"quipped Chuck. _Casey's yell must have got me back._

"Guys we only have a few minutes before we call Beckman back" Sarah interjected.

"I hope she has clothes on this time. Once certainly was enough for me" Chuck mumbled under his breath, but not low enough. _Ok that's two couples I've seen naked and not ones I wanted to either._

Just then a memory popped into chucks head, "I've met Jennifer before! When I was looking for Sarah's engagement ring Bill took me to a place called Jen's House of Jewelry. She is the owner of the shop. She sold me your ring! That's what she meant when she said, 'I wish mine would realize that.' She said it right after I told her how special you were."

"It better be enough. What took you so long to look away, Huh?" huffed his wife. _I really didn't need to see them either._

"Me, what about you? You were frozen as well!" argued Chuck _ok its official she's nuts._

"It doesn't matter if I look," _he's too easy_

"Why?" _huh_

"Because I'm a woman that's why."

"And that makes it Ok?" _I'm not going to win this._

"Yep"

"Alright you win."

"I always do"

"Yeah you do. The Generals fiancée is pretty good looking don't you think?" _Shit just when it was almost safe_

"You were checking her out too?" _I have to admit the General did land a hottie._

"Chuck stop before you get in any deeper" Sirella tosses out.

"Sarah you know I only have eyes for you."

"Nice save Babe."

"Ok team I got the General back." Gabriel calls out getting everyone's attention back where it should be.

This time the General is sitting at the computer in casual clothing. "Before we start I like to ask if Jennifer can be involved from now on. It will make late night briefings like this easier."

"It's your show General. I'm Ok with it as long as the discussion we had earlier today stays between us. Explain to Jennifer the ramifications of loose lips." Gabriel said.

"Jen honey, come on in" Jen walked in, dressed similar to the General and sat next to her. "These people are the members of the special team I was put in charge of. On the far right is Agent Casey NSA, to his right is Agent Bartowski CIA, to his right is his wife Agent Bartowski CIA, to her right is Sirella and to her right is her husband Gabriel. Team this is my fiancée Jen."

Jen gave a little wave.

"We gathered a lot of good information tonight. Jones has an ex partner Brian Wells who is now Fulcrum. He was the one sending the money to a charity called CFCB it's a legitimate charity but many of its clients have less than desirable intentions. Jones said all the deposits were done electronically, so we have all their transactions traced. Sarah and I don't believe Jones is involved. We need to check his records. He claims he fired Brian six months ago. If the deposits stopped around then it will tell us if he is telling the truth. We have a recording of the mission that we will pass along."

"Good work Chuck and Sarah. It seems we have good start so far and with the information gathered tonight our analysts show be busy for a while."

"Ma'am I would like to point out that Chuck did a great job tonight getting the information from Jones," Reported Casey.

"I will make a note of it in his file. Anything else?"

"One last thing, Sirella and I were talking and we need to ask you one very important question that came up this evening."

"Proceed"

"We need to get this straight, you took around twenty years to propose to the lovely creature next to you. But you have each others' names tattooed over your lady parts. That makes no sense to us"

Jen jumped in, "Tell me about it. It was a semi monthly battle for years. The tattoos where her idea in the first place. But did she ask me to marry her, nooo. I'm like what the fuck, babe we pretty much branded each other, right. I'd never be able to get laid again with her name there right?"

"JENNIFER!" _oh dear Lord._

"Hush Di, they've seen it all any way. Where was I? Oh yeah. So after I say yes I ask her to go pick out wedding rings. You know what she says? No you don't so I'll tell you. She says no rings. Using some lame ass excuse about being found out. I'm like Huh? We go everywhere together, all the balls and dining ins. After twenty years of seeing us together, her people are either smart enough not to care or too stupid to live. Don't ask don't tell and all that. So instead of rings we are getting one nipple pierced. I picked out a cute hoop with a star on it and she got…"

"JENNIFER no more please, I have to work with these people. Dear God Hon give me a break please" The General begged.

"Since you asked nicely and said please ill drop it, for now. Gabriel, call back around five. She doesn't get home till six." Seeing her lover get flustered she beat a hasty retreat. "Oops gotta run, bye, nice meeting you all. I knew she would like the ring Chuck!"

"Beckman out" and the connection closed.

"Well that was fun, NOT!" Chuck finally managed to get out. _We have to find a way to fix what happened. I can't take that again. The super spy or whatever he is just chats away like it's nothing. Like it's every day you see your Boss naked and ready to have sex. _

Casey was another story, _this is so not happening to me. The general is a lesbian, tattooed, and now getting pierced. Oh and I can't forget the big one, I almost saw her having sex. Naked was bad enough but kissing too? Karma is a bitch sometimes. Then there's then there's Gabriel, I figured I got an ally, a kindred spirit in a war hero. Sadly no, he was worse than Chuck,. Really, who discusses their superiors sex life?_

Sarah was still trying to wrap her head around what happened, _that conniving BITCH! Relationships are bad, who is she kidding. Is she loud and proud? No, does she ever leave Jen home, nope. I'll give her credit though; her girl is good looking, who would have thought? And she's really funny, 'we got branded and I'd never get laid again'. If I wasn't in shock I would have laughed my ass off. Then Gabriel for lack of a better term calls the General an idiot for waiting to propose. He talks about killing like its nothing, then talks about all the people he has caught having sex. Dude's nuts._

"Casey, when you get the financial information, let my team know. You guys did well tonight and should go home and get some rest. If the General has anything for you I'll pass it on. Sirella and I will be gone for a few days setting up the new facility near your new home. My team has completed most of the work but we need to put the finishing touches on it. Enjoy the rest of your night." Gabriel concluded as he escorted the team to their vehicles.

The following morning Sarah and Casey started Chuck's training. They decided to divide his training into three parts. Devon would be the cardio and physical portion. Devon put together a plan that would start Chuck off slowly and gradually escalate to the level that would be good for him. Sarah would take care of the martial arts and knife throwing part of his training. Casey would handle the small arms and weapons qualifications. Chuck would spend part of each day working with his instructors and working on the daily reports. Then he would look over the reports the General would send him. After his first full day of training, Chuck begged Sarah to shoot him because the pain of the gun shot would only be in one place, and not all over like his present state. Sarah just laughed and dragged him into the bedroom to massage away his pain. Of course one thing led to another and they never left the room again except to _refuel_ as Chuck called it.

As more days passed, Chuck began to hurt less after each work out. He had improved slightly better than Devon had expected. The same held true for the training he was getting from his two partners. During this time Morgan was trying to get together with Chuck to play COD before he left, and was tired of being pushed to the sidelines. Morgan figured he was Chuck's friend longer than Sarah was his wife so she owed him some gaming time. He began planning an assault on Chuck's room that would insure he got time with Chuck.

Gabriel finally called to let them know he was back in town and that everything was ready to go; and they were allowed to postpone the move until after Thanksgiving. He had convinced the General to change the move date till the 4th of December so Chuck and Sarah could spend the holiday with his sister. To the team's relief he had paid a visit to the General and corrected the minor issue with the computer in her house. He wanted Casey to plan his move on the 1st of December to set up the arms room in a way that was best for the team, and to check the indoor range. The movers would arrive on the 3rd to pick up their things. Another truck would be waiting at the airport to get the Porsche when they left for good.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Sarah's phone rang, waking her up. She disengaged herself from Chuck and grabbed her phone, "Bartowski, Secure"

"I just got some information on Wells and the Charity you supplied me. Be at the nest at nine so we can go over it, Beckman out."

"She gets grumpier every time we talk to her." Groaned Chuck in a sleep laden voice.

"I think she is still unsettled by us after we saw her naked and almost having sex."

"Excuse me while I hurl. Really Sarah did you have to bring that up again?"

"We need to get ready and Head out." Was all Sarah said in response.

At nine they were all seated in the nest when the General came on. She explained the expanse of the finical network that had been uncovered, and plans were made to slowly start freezing the assets of those involved. The next item on the agenda was a quick mission that Chuck and Sarah would need to do that morning.

"Agents Bartowski, when we ran Wells' name through our records we came up with the same information Chuck gave us. We combined the first and last names of all his known aliases and came up with a hit on Terry Brooke. He owns a small book store down town. I dispatched a team to do recon and they confirmed it is Wells. You need to get into his computer and upload a virus that will send us all the information plus allow us monitor his traffic. The store is closed for the week and the security system is simple. Gabriel has loaded the virus on a flash drive for you. Are there any questions?"

"No Ma'am I'm good" Replied Casey.

"Sounds simple enough, we should be done by noon, so should we brief here at one?" asked Chuck.

"I have a meeting at one so we will schedule for two instead. If that's all, Beckman out."

"Ok Chuck let's get the drive and do this. Casey you follow in the van for backup," Sarah said.

On the ride over, Chuck's phone rang and Morgan's face appeared on the screen. "Hey bud what's up?"

"I am on the way to your place so I can kick your ass at Halo."

"Not today we're not home right now and won't be 'til about three." Chuck glanced over at Sarah for approval both knowing what was coming next. She gave him a slight nod of her head. "Can you make it then?"

"Sure Chuck, but we need to have a serious talk. Sarah is taking up all your time and you'll be leaving soon and I want my time now!" Morgan's voice had grown louder the longer he spoke.

"Fine see you then." And he hung up.

The mission went off without a hitch and they were on their way back by eleven. Both their phones went off at once displaying '_Security breech: Bird House_' Sarah changed directions and headed home. Thankfully they were just minutes away.

Morgan finished his call to and continued on to Chuck's. His plan was simple, use the Morgan door to get in then start playing Halo. With Devon and Ellie at work he would have no problem. He was betting that Chuck wouldn't change his mind if he was already playing when they got back. His plan had gone flawless so far and he was already in Chuck's room. As he made his way across it to the gaming area he noticed a laptop sitting on the desk. _Nice wonder where he got this. We don't anything like this at Buy More. Sleek and lightweight. Let's see what this puppy can do. It's fast too. Password protected, I should be able to get in. nope that's not it. _He continued trying to get in. what Morgan didn't know was the laptop had sent an alert to the nest and all the agents phones as soon as he powered it up. The power button had finger print recognition software attached and if the print did not match one on the list of authorized users it sent out the alarm and its' location.

Gabriel was on his way to the store when his phone alerted him to the breech at the Bird House, and he was minutes away, he changed course and headed there as fast as he could breaking all the traffic laws currently in effect. His plan was equally simple, use the Morgan door, disable the unauthorized user find out what they found, if anything and kill them, simple.

Several things happened at the same time, Chuck and Sarah entered from the front and Gabriel through the window, Morgan looked up to check the time and saw a strange man by the window. As Sarah and Chuck were getting near the door a single gunshot was heard. Gabriel raised his weapon and put one round in Morgan's shoulder joint shattering it. Morgan felt a horrific pain then his world went black. Sarah and Chuck burst in with their guns drawn and the intersect feeding Chucks brain all relevant information. _**Chance of firing first...low … less than acceptable, chance of death…high … not acceptable, chance of Sarah dying to protect him...high … not acceptable. Target lessening threat level good if not provoked…good…acceptable **_

Their attention went straight towards Gabriel who started to lower his weapon. Gabriel spoken a voice that reminded them of the first day they met. Gone is the voice tinted with humor they had heard so much of the last couple of days; replaced with the chilling monotone of a stone cold killer, "I have secured the room and disabled the intruder. Medical and back up are en route, I need to work on the perp until they arrive."

".MORGAN!" screamed Chuck as he cradled his injured friend.

"No Chuck I disabled the unauthorized person trying to hack into your team's laptop" hissed Gabriel as he made his way to Morgan to start working on him. He tore open the shirt covering the wound and poured a gray powdery substance into the wound. The bleeding stated to slow almost immediately. Sarah, though shocked and very pissed, was still able to understand what happened. Gabriel was a trained spy like herself, and though she hates to admit it, he's much better than she is. He was notified of the breech and took out the threat. There were no emotions involved, just the need to keep the computer safe and in his view he did. She can see it his eyes, they are black as coal with no hint of remorse.

"Chuck, Morgan will be fine, Sarah soothed. "I've seen wounds far worse than this and the person lived. Give Gabriel a chance to help him till the medical team arrives"

Chuck, shaken to the core over what happened, was sobbing silently while mumbling "Why, damn it why? He's my friend damn it. You didn't need to shoot him. You could have just told him to stop; you didn't have to shoot him!"

"Chuck, if you want me to help Morgan, shut up. We will discuss what happened and why at the nest. Sarah, go meet the team in the living area." As soon as Gabriel finished speaking, voices could be heard in the main living area.

A short time later, Sarah returned with a group of four consisting of the Doctor, Sirella, a blonde that looked familiar and a tall red head she hadn't seen before.

The Doctor went over to where Chuck and Gabriel were and began to evaluate the extent of Morgan's injury. Morgan, by this time was starting to regain consciousness and the pain in his shoulder reminded him he was shot. The Doctor noticed the pain flash across his patient's face gave him a shot to dull the pain. "You are very lucky to be alive young man" stated the Doctor as he started an IV, all the while mumbling about antiquated medical practices. This earned him a slap on the back of the head from Sirella and a glare from the red head. "Well it's true!" Finished the Doc.

"What do you mean lucky?" Morgan questions as the drugs start to dull both his pain and his senses "I shouldn't have even been shot and who are you people?"

"I have been with him" pointing at Gabriel "for a long time and you are the first one I had to work on. All the others are dead. He never leaves survivors." Explained the Doctor, "He's ready to go, let's get him back to the medical wing so I can fix him up."

Sirella jumped into the conversation "Doc and Sarah you help Morgan out to the van, Megan and Sam do the clean up, and Gabriel you're with me. Let's go people, we need this place clean and empty when the Doc's get back." She exited the room dragging Gabriel behind her.

A short while later found the entire team in the briefing room passing on the mission details and the shooting of Morgan to General Beckman. While the General was ecstatic over the successful mission and the data that was starting to come in, she was a little less than pleased over the shooting. "Would you mind explaining what caused you to shoot Mr. Grimes?"

"General, during our previous discussions I informed you what would happen if an unauthorized person were to gain access to any of our equipment. I received the breach warning and the location, the same as the rest of the team. I was close so I responded. I know Chuck keeps the computer in his room so I went in through the window hoping to surprise the person causing the breach. Upon entering the room I saw an unknown male attempting to gain access to the laptop. I raised my weapon and prepared to take the kill shot. At the last second I noticed the man was Morgan and knew he should have the right to explain why he was trying to hack into Chuck's laptop. I altered my shot and disabled Morgan. I explained to everyone that is present here that I don't make idle threats; I guess they believe me now. You already know the rest General."

"I agree with your assessment of the situation but I would caution you on the use of excessive force. If at all possible try not to or kill innocent people" cautioned the General, "you are slowly teaching me that."

"Agreed General, but there is something I need to make perfectly clear," Gabriel continued with a voice as cold as ice, giving each person at the table an icy glare "your team has in its possession things that nobody else on this planet has. I cannot and will not let anyone get their hands on it. If someone has unauthorized possession of any of it, I will always take the approach to shoot first and ask questions later. The same goes for my team. I hope we agree on this point."

"Team I hope we have an agreement on this." Seeing the nods around the table the General ended the briefing.

Chuck, who was still seething mad even after the explanation given to the General, turned on Gabriel and launched his verbal attack. "What give you the right to shoot my friends? They're harmless for goodness sake! Morgan couldn't find his way out of a paper bag that's open on three sides; let alone get into a secure computer!"

"Can I handle this one Babe?" Sirella asked as she rose out of her chair and moved to stand behind her husband, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders.

"It may be for the best, I am still trying to calm down after tonight. I will be in the gym if you need me" and he departed.

"I'll explain that in a minute but first, one of our teams could really use some help that only you can give us. We have been keeping tabs on a medium level target for a while without his knowledge. He has a very important position in the IRS. The mark spends a lot of time in sports chat rooms and playing poker online. We made contact with him in one of the Mets chat rooms. The problem is our mark has as much common sense as a bag of burning hair. He prattles on endlessly about his friend's girl friend. Hell everyone online knows what she looks like and how great she is. I could point them out the minute they walked into the room. Pretty soon we have a small steady group that meet on a regular basis. We did a check on the IP addresses of the regulars and started gathering information on them. Turns out most of them work for the Government in one way or another." Sirella took a short break to look at the team, two of the three looked like they were starting to figure it out.

"Soon these people start accidentally meeting up with him, not very often mind you, but enough. That brings us to today. We need to know if the people he is meeting can be trusted. Since you have the Fulcrum data in your head we need you to check out these names." She passed a stack of photos to Chuck, who flashed on several of them. "What is your assessment?" She asked when she saw he had finished flashing.

Chuck took a minute to formulate a plan before answering. "Several of them are Fulcrum but not very high up the chain. Most have backgrounds in computer programming and cryptology. One is a freelance hacker that has done time for hacking into Microsoft and planting a virus. I would bring him in and see if the agents have requested any favors from him. They may want him to help hack into the IRS system, or one from another part of the Government."

Sirella then passed another stack of pictures to Chuck, and then watched as the color drained from his face. Sarah and Casey both noticed the change in Chucks face and demeanor and glanced at the new pictures. Their fears were confirmed, Morgan had been making contact with the Fulcrum agents.

"Morgan's not Fulcrum, he can't be," Chuck said in a voice so soft he could barely be heard. Sarah reached over and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"We don't believe he is, but we have no way of knowing until we talk to him."

"Why were you following him anyway? He doesn't know a thing. He thinks I am a Nerd Herder with a hot wife."

Sarah gave him a small smile for the compliment.

"From the first day you downloaded the intersect we put our people in place. We have at least one person close to the people you care about. We like to call it nonintrusive surveillance. We never listen to them or worry about what goes on in their homes. We just observe from the outside. We did have to put two people in the hospital though. It was done for Ellie and Devon's protection nothing else. If someone held a knife to Ellie's throat you'd roll over in a heartbeat." Sirella told him.

Casey just grunted knowing it was true.

This aggravated Chuck a bit and he voiced it "Sarah and Casey are doing very good at keeping me safe, thank you very much. The rest don't know anything."

"Chuck do the math!" Sirella said, starting to get mad. "You have got to be the dumbest smart man I have ever met. They don't have to know anything. Fulcrum knows who Sarah and Casey are because of the agents that have defected to them over the years. They are trained spies as well, just not as good as these two. They eventually put two and two together and got four! Why would the CIA and NSA have two of their better agents stationed in one place so long? And why were you always with one of them? If that's not a dead giveaway that you are an important asset then I don't know what is. What we can't figure out is who the mental idiot is who thought it would be ok for everyone you know to walk around without someone looking out for them. So far there have been over twenty attempts made against Ellie and Devon. We have stopped them all. Fulcrum doesn't care who they hurt or kill as long as they get you. Everyone else is just a pawn in their game."

This statement took not only Chuck by surprise but his partners as well. Sirella was right, they had put countless resources into protecting Chuck but very few were intended to protect his family. The apartment had motion sensors, video and audio feeds inside and out. The truth was that there was nothing in place to protect either Ellie or Devon when they were at work or outside the apartment.

The mostly one sided conversation continued on for several more hours until all questions were answered and the teams fears put to rest. The Doc came by and gave them an update on Morgan, informing them that Morgan would be fine and was being taken to a regular hospital. The cover story would be a home invasion that went bad.


	7. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Truth About Gabriel's Team**

**A/N: In this chapter we learn the final truths about Gabriel's team. Guess what? I still don't own Chuck or STV. On a technical note, there were some issues when I entered this in word from open office. There were extra breaks put in all over the place and some breaks got left out, so if it looks ragged I tried to catch them all but may have missed some. Don't blame my Beta BDaddyDL for them, he did a great job fixing my garbled mess. Also please read the A/N 2 and 3 at the bottom. If I put the info here it may ruin the chapter for you! Please enjoy.**

The day finally arrived for Sarah and Chuck to leave Burbank behind and head east. Sarah was almost in tears as her beloved Porsche was being prepared for shipping. She made it perfectly clear that if they put one scratch on her car, she would come back to seek revenge on the person who did the damage. Once the inanimate love of her life was safely loaded in the semi that would eventually transport it to their new home, Sarah was finally able to relax. As couple made their way to the ticket counter to check their bags and get their seat assignments, they were approached by a pair of men that Chuck flashed on as being part of General Beckman's personal security detail.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael, we've been sent to escort you to your transportation. Would you please follow us?" one of the agents asked.

A short while later they arrived at a small private hanger where they found General Beckman and Jennifer waiting for them. "Good afternoon Chuck and Sarah. Welcome to Carmichael Air. Please board the plane and take you seats." Jennifer said with a small chuckle after noticing the surprised looks on the couple's faces. It only took a few minutes to board the plane and stow their bags. As the plane was preparing for departure General Beckman took the time to explain what was going on.

"In short time you have been working with Gabriel; we've been able to freeze several hundred million dollars in assets that were headed to terrorist groups and Fulcrum itself. Between the information we got from Well's computer, and the leads from the CFCB charity, we have been able to put a major dent in some of the smaller groups. It seems to be having a trickle up effect as well. Some of the larger groups are starting to get nervous. We've been getting a small amount of Fulcrum agents that were identified by Chuck to roll over." Beckman pauses to allow her agents to process the information she has just provided them.

"This plane was seized after the arrest of a major contributor who's arrest came after we analyzed the intelligence we gathered from Well's computer. We figured it would integrate nicely as part of Chuck's cover of wealthy businessman. Since it won't cost us any money except maintenance and fuel, we decided to use it. You will have a fully staffed flight crew at your disposal twenty four hours a day."

"Thank you General. Is something important going on that you came out here to see us?" asked Sarah.

"Not at all Sarah. I took some leave time and since Jen has never been to Disneyland, I decided to bring her out here. I got the call a couple days ago that we seized this plane and decided to use it for our operation. We're just going to fly back with you since private planes are so much better than commercial ones. We will be dropped off in DC, and then you will continue on to Philadelphia. I've taken the liberty of having your limo stand by at the airport waiting for your arrival."

They spent the part of the trip discussing some upcoming missions but for the most part they just relaxed and talked about mundane things. "We're about half way there guys. Have either of you been to Philadelphia?" asked Jen.

"I've never been past the Mississippi, so it will be really different for me. The good thing is, I'll get to see lots of things I have never seen" Answered Chuck.

"Despite the numerous missions I was involved in I never spent any time in Philly. The closest I ever got was New York. I think the highlight for me will be able to do and so many new things with Chuck for the first time."

"Diane has been telling me a bit about where you two will be living. I really think you guys will be amazed at the house Gabriel's team got for you. Do you know what the best part of your moving to the main line is? You can go watch the World Series Champions play!" Jen said loudly enough to wake Beckman from her nap.

"Oh please Jen the only reason they won was because the umps missed all those calls" whined Beckman.

"Oh here we go! Back to blaming the umpires again are we? Why can't you just accept the fact that we were the better team, and we whooped your team's ass" Jens voice was starting to get louder as she rose from her seat to face Beckman.

Beckman never one to back down, immediately rose to accept her girlfriends challenge and got right in her face, "You know damn right well that it was a bad call at third and he was safe!"

Chuck and Sarah were starting to get nervous thinking that the heated argument would lead to blows.

"Yeah but they tried to give you the game when they let you tie the score before they postponed it because of rain!" Jen yelled back at Beckman.

Just as Beckman was preparing her counter attack she glanced over and saw the panicked look her two agents' faces and she started to laugh. "Jen, check out Chuck and Sarah!"

Jen turned to look and a smile crossed her face as well. "Sorry about that display guys. You need to understand Diane and I are both die hard baseball fans. I am a huge Philadelphia Phillies fan and Diane is a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays. If you think that was bad, you should have seen us during the World Series."

"God, it was horrible. We fought so bad I thought we might break up over it. We slept in separate rooms until the series ended. So that little outburst was nothing" Beckman added.

"From the sounds of it, our house should have plenty of room, so you can stay with us when you come to check on the missions." offered Chuck.

The heated debate over, they decided to put in a movie, and relax for the rest of the trip. Several hours later they were met at the airport by Gabriel, Sirella and Casey and taken to the waiting limo. A short while later, everyone arrived at their new home. As they approached the house, they saw it was surrounded by a large brick wall that stood at least ten feet tall. The entrance way was guarded by a large iron gate that was being opened by a guard that had been stationed there. They entered the drive passing through the gate which was promptly closed by the guard. The view was spectacular. The long driveway turned into a circular one that would allow cars to drive up to the front door of the mansion, drop off its passengers and continue on around and exit on the main drive. Inside the circular drive was a fountain centered in a large garden.

Chuck was stunned at the size of the mansion and the beauty of it. Sarah was also taken by surprise by the mansion. Sirella started to explain a little about the house as they approached the front door. "This house is one of the last remaining grand country estates on the Main Line. The Main Line got its name from where it was built. The Pennsylvania Railroad's main line ran through this area and the towns were built along its route. Many of the wealthiest Philadelphia families built their estates in these towns. To this day it remains home to most of the areas wealthy families. This property is a gated private enclave resting 6 acres surrounded by a ten foot high brick wall. I felt this would allow us to provide better security for Chuck and Sarah. As we continue walking around you'll notice there are several charming courtyards and walkways."

"Gabriel and I have already taken in viewing some of the beautiful Terraces that are located around the property. When you entered the property you saw one of the many majestic fountains that are located on the grounds."

"Wow" was all Chuck could say.

"I have been in some very nice mansions in my career but I have never been around one like this. From what I can tell it has a French flair to it. Chuck's right. It's just wow" Sarah added.

Sirella smiled brightly and continued "I'm glad you like it so far. And you're right about the French flair. It's a Horace Trumbauer designed French Chateau. The residence encompasses over 22,000 Square Feet and has been meticulously restored to its original splendor, while including all of today' modern conveniences. I'll go into more details on the house itself after we finish the tour of the outside. As head of security the wall was a big selling point for me until I toured the grounds and house."

After a few minutes of walking Sirella began talking again "In a minute or so you'll see a reflecting pond. You'll notice all around the ground the numerous stately mature trees and the enchanting gardens that were designed by Olmstead Brothers. A little further along we will come to the swimming pool and open air Pavilion. Granted you will only get five months use out of it but hey it came with the estate. We added a few new items to the property that will come in handy. We had a helicopter pad built in case we need to evacuate you quickly or need to be somewhere on short notice. We made sure it cannot be seen from the residence or the grounds close to it. I knew you would be tired and hungry after the long flight so I had some hoagies delivered to the pavilion. Take your time and enjoy the food. Meet me in the foyer in about an hour and we'll show you around the residence."

Sarah, Chuck and Casey were sitting around the table eating while enjoying the view and just chatting in general. Casey was slightly annoyed that the Government had spent such a large amount on the residence. He claimed it was a waste of money. Chuck countered his point by saying that they would just sell it when the mission was over and the net cost to the Government would be nothing. Sarah just sat back and watched the two men engage in the argument. Sarah was really excited to be in such a place with no dangerous missions on the horizon. When they finished eating and chatting they headed back to the residence.

Sirella and Gabriel were waiting for the trio as they returned from the pavilion. "So are you ready to see your new place?" Sirella began the tour starting with the foyer. "The main rooms you will be using on a daily basis will be the Family Room, Dining Room, and Breakfast Room. When you entertain your clients and friends there are a number of rooms available for use. There is the Grand Reception Hall, Ballroom, Library, and even a Billiard Room. The last of the major rooms are the Gourmet Kitchen and Conservatory." While Sirella was going over the main rooms of the residence, he was watching Chuck. He couldn't decide if Chuck looked more like a dead fish, or a dear that had been hit by a car and left on the side of the road. He was just standing there with his mouth open, and his tongue hanging uselessly out of the side of his mouth. His eyes were large as saucers and his face had gone slightly pale. _He looks like he's going to pass out from all this excitement. I'm going to have to get the Doc to help him calm down._

"The first thing I would like you take notice of is the grandly proportioned rooms. They are attractive and impressive being richly colorful with highly crafted architectural details. We took great care to get you furniture fit in with the opulence of the house. The residence includes 14 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms 3 powder rooms and a Wine cellar. Gabriel and I debated for a long time on which of the bed rooms to convert into secure offices. We decided on the two closest bedrooms to the master suite. We converted another bedroom into a training room. Casey really liked what we did to the wine cellar. It contains a medium sized armory that is fully loaded. There is also a range where you can keep up with weapons training."

The tour of the residence took several hours. Chuck and Sarah wanted to take their time and learn as much about the history of the house. They knew it would be good for their cover to know as much about the residence as possible. When the tour was complete, the group settled in the family room to settle any last minute issues.

Chuck had finally started to get over the shock of where he was going to be living for the foreseeable future, and a question came to him that he needed an answer to. "We're all set with the house but what do we do about clothes?"

"That's the big question you have after seeing our new house?" Sarah said the disbelief clear in her voice.

"Well yeah, I mean everything in here is done, and we didn't bring that much with us."

"Don't worry Chuck we have taken care of that as well. You'll be taking trips to the fashion capitols of the world to get your wardrobe. You already have fittings scheduled in New York, Paris, Milan, Barcelona and Sydney. With your wife being a former fashion model, it would be out of place for her not to be up on and wearing the latest fashion. The same goes for you Chuck. This next part is going to be hard on you. From this day forward you cannot be seen outside of the residence with those things on your feet." Sirella looked down pointing at his ever present Chucks "You come from money" Sirella answered.

"I never thought being a spy would require so much sacrifice" He said with a huff. This got a laugh out of almost everyone in the room and a nudge from Sarah. "I guess the one good thing to come out of this is I can see a lot of places I have never seen before. Maybe you can show me around Sarah."

"That's probably not going to work so well Chuck. I may have been in some of these cities before but it was never for very long. Like my mission in France. We landed in Paris then left right away to do the mission. It was well away from Paris. So I can actually see it for the first time with you."

"That works for me. One more question before we head to bed. How long till Sarah's Porsche gets here, and where is my Viper?"

"I knew I forget something when I was showing you around. There is an attached garage that has a private drive and gate. Your car is in there and Sarah's car should be here in a few days. The gate will not be manned like the front gate but has a security panel you use to open the gate."

Gabriel got up from the chair he was sitting in and helped his wife up. He moved so he was facing Sarah and Chuck who were ensconced on the large couch. "Before we go I have one final thing for Chuck and Sarah." He handed them a legal folder that contained quite a bit of paperwork. "Please take a moment to review these papers before we leave. You'll need to keep them somewhere safe."

They took the folder and began looking at the paperwork and found the title to Chucks car, the deed to the house and signed contracts for every for aspect of caring for the residence paid up for the next ten years.

Sarah was the first to speak up "You guys thought of everything for the cover. I will give you credit you guys are good."

Sirella started to giggle and pulled Gabriel into a hug. "You need to take closer look at the names on the paperwork. The names on the titles and deeds are your names. The CIA and NSA were not involved in the purchase of the property or anything else. They are a wedding presents from us to you."

There was no way for Gabriel or Sirella to describe the looks that were on the newlyweds faces. It was later described to them as a cross between disbelief, shock, and utter happiness. For Chuck and Sarah, Alice's falling down the rabbit hole was nothing compared to what the couple is feeling_. I am just getting used to the fact that I am married to Chuck and my boss approves. The only house I wanted for a long time is the one I could share with Chuck. Now I own a palatial estate with the man I love. For the first time since, well maybe the first time in my life I can see myself with children._

Chuck reached a new level of amazement at how his life was turning out. _Just over a year ago my life was a mess. I was still wallowing in self pity and doubt, working in a dead end job. Then I got the Intersect stuck in my head. Sarah entered my life and fell hopelessly in love. My life got much better when I was allowed to date her. When I married her, I thought my life was as good as it was going to get. Now I have the woman of my dreams and a house I never thought I could ever have. Only children could make my life better than it is today._

Neither one could figure out what to say about the magnitude of the gift they had just received today, or several months ago, by the man they knew as Gabriel. They just hugged the two people who they could now call friends.

"I'm official confused. How can you give us something the government owns?"

"They didn't but it we did. Everything we just gave you, the residence, the plane and the services were bought by Gabriel and I. Gabriel told you we are independent contractors. We are currently working with the government, but are in no way associated with it. No government money was spent. We financed the items ourselves."

Chuck and Sarah decided they wanted to keep this little tidbit to themselves for a while and surprise his sister if she came out for a visit.

Several weeks had gone by, and it was nearing Christmas. Sarah and Chuck had spent the last several weeks traveling between the European fashion capitols getting fitted with all the latest fashions. Chuck was impressed by the service they received at each stop. Soon they had a collection from the new winter a spring collections. They attend a few of the Galas there were taking place during their trip. The General knew it was a good way for them to start integrating into the upper levels of society. They managed to make several contacts in the business world. Unfortunately for the team, they did not turn up any information they could use. It did however allow Chuck to increase his business opportunities.

The one thing that was never forgotten while they were away was Chucks training. As Sarah told Chuck, no matter where we are you can always run, do sit ups and pushups. Sarah kept him on track with his martial arts training. If they could not find a local business that would allow them to train, they would practice katas in the room. Chuck was surprised how fast some places would allow you just walk in use it if the price was right. Beckman had been informed prior to their departure what the itinerary for the couple would be. She made arrangements with either the local law enforcement agencies or the military for the use of their facilities. Beckman was adamant that Chuck's training not suffer while he was "out gallivanting the globe" as she put it. Chuck was progressing at a rate that was moderately ahead of the schedule that was set up when he started his training.

Sarah noticed about a month into his training that he was starting to bulk up and shed what little fat he had. His reflexes were getting faster, and his stamina had also improved. During his fifth week of training, he was still having trouble hitting Sarah as he when he sparred with her. Sirella decided to take matters into her own hands. She stormed into the training room in the residence and proceeded to beat the snot out of Chuck. Before he could get to badly injured Gabriel ran into the room and tossed Sirella off Chuck. That seemed to set her off, and as quick as a flash they two were locked in a heated battle. The fight didn't last long. Not because one of them got knocked out, but because they end up lip locked on the floor. As they hurried to the door Sarah asked them "what just happened" and Sirella yelled back "foreplay". Sarah used that event to prove to Chuck that he could land punches when they sparred. This was a turning point for Chuck.

The worst training Chuck and Sarah had to undertake was the etiquette lessons. They had to act the part of the rich and famous, not just look it. Sirella squelched any thoughts of their protesting by telling Sarah the CIA did train her but not near enough. She was given just enough to get by as arm candy, but not enough to pull off someone who has been living the stuffy rich lifestyle for the past number of years. Chuck was at a complete loss because he never even dreamed of living a life like he was now. He needed all the help he could get.

At the end of the second month the difference was clearly noticeable. He now had six pack abs, and well defined muscles. He could easily run seven miles a day, but they limited those long runs to once a week. He ran three miles on two days, and five on the fifth day. On his two mile days they incorporated sprints into the distance. Devon suggested this to aid in his quickness. He would hit the weight room several days a week. His goal was not to bulk up, but to develop strength and muscle mass. With his ever increasing strength and quickness, combined with his now formidable fighting skills, they were forced to use protective gear when they trained. So far in his training Chuck refused to use the help from the intersect. He wanted to as much on his own as he could.

Sarah had moved Chuck up from fighting against her, to them fighting against Sirella and Gabriel. Gabriel had suggested this to Sarah after watching them spar. His reasoning was simple. By just sparring with her he would eventually learn all her moves and be able to anticipate and defend against them. If he ever got into a fight with someone other than Sarah, he would not have any practice fighting someone with different moves and skills. Plus, by fighting as a team they would be able to anticipate each other's moves. All the practice would make them a very formidable and dangerous team. When the time came the plan was to have them fight against four to six opponents.

Casey was also impressed with Chuck ability to handle and master weapons. Though he was a bit slow at first, he quickly caught on and was proficient at several types of pistols. In the assault weapons class he had mastered the M-16/M4 family, the M-40A3 Marine Corp sniper rifle, and the various crew served weapons used by the US Military. Casey also included limited training on the AK-47 and most of the weapons used in NATO. Casey had explained to Chuck that he did not have to master these weapons, just be very familiar with them in case he ever needed to use one.

With Christmas just around the corner plans had to be made. With Ellie and Devon preparing to move east to start at Johns Hopkins right after the New Year it was decided that Christmas would be celebrated at the Bartowski residence. Chuck scheduled his jet to pick them up on the twenty third of December. They had just finished eating when Sarah's phone rang "Bartowski secure"

"Beckman Secure, we have a mission for you in Burbank. I want a video conference in thirty minutes."

"Ma'am can we push it to the right by half an hour? Chuck and Casey are on a run and will return in about thirty minutes."

"Fine, I'll contact you in an hour. Beckman out."

An hour later almost to the second the communications equipment came to life and the face of General Beckman appeared. "We have a situation back in Burbank. A former CIA agent was arrested yesterday wandering around the streets of Los Angles. From the reports we have he was babbling like an idiot and drooling. The officer that brought him described him as 'bat shit crazy'. He kept mumbling down load bad over and over. We believe he may have ties with Fulcrum. He lives in the suburbs of Burbank. He may have picked his location to be close to other members or near the cell itself we're not sure. I have sent you an email with all the information we have. Are there any questions?" slight pause "Good luck then, Beckman out."

"Looks like you're going to the suburbs" states Casey.

"Hate to tell you big guy, but I don't think we can more suburban than this" Quips Chuck.

"Casey can you arrange for the plane to be ready in a couple hours? We are going to need time to pack." Sarah asks as she heads out of the room.

"How long can it take you to love birds to pack? Your CIA for cripes sake"

She stops and turn to face him with a look of disbelief on her face, "Think about it Casey. Since we got here we only wear top end designer clothes. We can't show up in _that _neighborhood wearing Vera Wang dresses and top end Armani suits. We need to unpack some of our old stuff. We may even need to go shopping to meet what's in our cover files. Why are you smiling Chuck?"

"I get to break out my Chuck's!"

"You're such a dork."

"Nerd actually but you put up with me anyway. We can also visit Ellie while we're there and if the mission goes well we can just have them fly back with us. We haven't told her about the plane or the palatial estate we own. It seems weird to say that."

"Sounds good to me now let's go. You can call Ellie on the way to the airport and let her know we're on the way and we'll see her tonight. I'll also ask if we can stay there until our cover house is ready instead of finding a hotel. "

"I'm sure they won't mind it's been a while since they saw us."

**Gabriel's headquarters east**

"Gabriel, we have a big problem," Gary said as he entered the conference room where the rest of the team was going over some old mission reports.

"Don't keep me waiting Gary you know I hate that," Gabriel said.

"We just got word from the Queen that Chuck and Sarah are going to die in three hours."

Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose. "And how was this small fact overlooked?" snapped Gabriel, as he stood up from his chair and began pacing around the room. "How did this small yet very important fact get over looked? And what are we going to fix this mess?"

"There is nothing we can do without affecting the future. They need to die in three hours."

"We reviewed all the relevant information on the Bartowski's and there was nothing in their future that suggested they were going to die so soon."

"That's true but the Bartowski's die in the plane crash that will happen within the next three hours; we are currently looking into the future of Ellie and Devon. Something the Gallian's did must have slightly altered the time line. Casey is the wild card in the equation. He has faked his death in the past so when we researched him and his trail ended we just assumed he did it again. The plane they just boarded was not the one they were originally scheduled to take, that flight arrives on time." Gary paused to take a deep breath and calm down, "They normally travel under their cover names while on missions, but because their jet is undergoing it's thousand hour maintenance check they had to fly commercial. They used their real names to buy their tickets. The NSA allowed their real names to be placed on the death certificates. The Bartowski's' will die on the plane that's headed to LAX."

"Damn it! We need options people and we need them fast," stated Gabriel. "We have less than three hours to come up with a plan."

"We can pull an Echo for them," suggested Liz.

"That won't work babe," countered Cameron. "These two are going to be on a plane that crashes, there's no way to get them off while they are in mid air. Plus their bodies have to be found to match the names on the manifest."

"I GOT IT" shouted Sam as she hurriedly entered the room. "Sorry, I was listening to the brief from the arms room. We can do an Echo we just need to modify the plans."

"Let's hear what you got Sam." Sirella urged.

"Compared to us, the way the conduct forensics is archaic at best. We can hack into any system they use including DNA data bases. We get two Jane Does from a morgue, get the DNA sample we need, and switch the information. We know Chuck and Sarah are on the plane that's in route to LAX, and just before it crashes, we beam them out and beam the bodies in. Two of our people do the autopsies on the bodies."

"That's all well and good Sam, but if we go that route, then we have to explain the ramifications to them," added Sirella.

"We did it for Echo didn't we? We just tell them the truth, like we did Echo," Sam countered.

"True, but what if they don't want to give up what they have?" Sirella proposed.

"Then we continue on without their help," Gabriel added. The members of Gabe's teams just looked at each other and understood the consequences if their mission failed and knew what that would mean for Chuck and Sarah.

"Get on it people, find two bodies that match the approximate height and weight of Chuck and Sarah. Sam, make sure that their bio sensors are working at peak efficiency, we can't afford a screw up on this. We need to beam them out just prior to impact, and beam in the bodies. We only get one shot at this lets make this count," Gabriel concluded and left the room.

**United flight 245 **

Chuck and Sarah were idly chatting when they heard a loud bang, and the plane pitched hard to the left and began to drop. It forced them hard against the seat belts that were restraining them. Screams and cries of panic erupted from the other passengers in the plane. The oxygen masks deployed just after the plane began its unaided decent. The sudden shift in weight of the bags stored in the over head bins forced many of the doors on the bins open. Carryon bags from the overhead bins fell out of the overhead compartments striking any passenger unlucky enough to be seated under them. Several passengers that failed to heed the warnings about being belted at all time found their heads and onther body parts violently striking the over head bins and other parts of the aircraft. Most of the flight attendants were also tossed about the cabin like rag dolls. The loud creaking from the plane's fuselage as it strained against the new forces being applied could barely be heard over the screaming passengers. The plane was literally coming apart at the seams. Cracks were forming in the interior walls of the plane.

**Ghost's HQ**

"On your toes people," barked Gabriel "we only have one shot at this. Gary what's the transporter status?"

"We have a good lock on them. Once I get the signal from the Doc, I'll beam them out."

"Doc, it's in your hands now. Don't fuck it up." Gabriel snapped.

"So far vitals are stable. Adrenals just spiked, heart rate and respiration just elevated, oxygen levels dropping fast. Gary, get them out now!"

"Transporter lock good, beaming them out now."

**United flight 245**

Chuck and Sarah were barely being held in their seats as the plane continued its rapid descent to the ground. They were smashed together several times before they could link their hands together. Chuck and Sarah looked into each other's and squeezed their hands tighter; both knew they were going to die and despite their impending deaths there was no where they would rather be than with the love of their life, staring lovingly into each other's eyes when unconsciousness began to overtake them. Each noticed a green hue forming around them, and felt a strange tingling sensation throughout their bodies.

**Gabriel's HQ**

Soon after they beamed into the HQ Chuck and Sarah became more alert as the effects of their first transportation started to wear off. The first thing they both noticed was that they were no longer in a crashing plane, but back in Gabriel's headquarters and most of the team was standing around them with smiles on their faces

*"'el maj tuq Chuck and Sarah" spoke Sirella.

"chaH legh vIp" added Sam

"chaH qIp Hegh" finished the Doc. "tIq qIp 'ach tlhuH QIt"

"What the heck are you saying?" snapped Sarah "How did we get here?"

"tlhIngan, Klingon Sarah," answered Gabriel.

"Not any Klingon I have ever heard before," mumbled Chuck.

"That is true Chuck, because you have never heard real tlhIngan before." Gabriel raised his hands in the universal hold on motion. "Allow us to explain. You and Bryce speak what you two believe is Klingon. Think of it this way, you want to learn how to speak Italian, but you have never heard it before. So you make up some words that sound like a language. Then when you meet someone that actually speaks Italian, it sounds nothing like what you made up. That's what you're going through now. What you hear today, you will have a hard time accepting, but trust me when I tell you it's all true." Gabriel gave them the cliff notes version of who they really were and why they were here.

"That was a nice story Gabriel, but you can't expect us to believe that you don't live on this planet?" asked Sarah.

"Doc, please stand in front of Sarah. Sarah, when I tell you, I want you to use a spinning heel kick to the Doc's head. Doc decrease your matrix by fifty percent, now Sarah, attack the doc with intent to kill," stated Gabriel.

Sarah went into attack mode and unleashed a vicious kick aimed at the Doc's head. If Doc was human, he would have been on his butt from the assault. His decreased matrix allowed Sarah's kick to pass through, and she was the one who ended up on her butt. She jumped to her feet stunned that she had missed her intended target. She fired off a straight right hand to the Doc's head, which again failed to land. She watched as her arm passed through the Doc's head, she cautiously extended her hand and began to feel the Doc. No matter what she did she could not touch him, her hands just passed on through as if he were a ghost.

Chuck was standing there slack jawed at what he was seeing.

"Doc, return your matrix to normal" Gabriel commanded. The doc merely shrugged and did as he was asked. He seemed to flicker a bit, before he nodded indicating he was back to normal. "Now touch him again Sarah."

Sarah reached out and put her hand on the Doc, and this time unlike the other times her hand met a solid body. She pulled her hand back as she had just touched a plate that came out of an oven.

"Really Sarah, there is no reason to act like that," huffed the Doc.

"What the hell are you!"

"I'm a sentient Hologram of course," the Doc replied all the while puffing out his chest, and standing taller than he had been before.

Chuck strolled over to Doc and started randomly poking him in the shoulder. The doc just let out a huff and rolled his eyes.

Gabriel chuckled before starting again. "Sirella is Klingon, I am human and Borg, the rest of my team is human. I know what you are thinking Chuck, 'how can fictional beings you have seen on television be real?' Many people have said the truth is stranger than fiction, or lesser know quotes along the same lines. The fact is, there are many races of beings out there in space. In a universe as vast as ours the possibilities are limitless. Truth is other beings including the Borg have been through this sector of space and have made contact, planting the seeds and ideas that stories have been based on."

"I understand most of this, but Borg. You look completely human." Chuck asked.

"Watch this Chuck." Gabriel placed his right hand on the table that was used for briefings and curled his fingers forcing them into the table. His fingers made short work of the table top and he pulled a chunk out of it and held it up to the stunned couple. He released the piece of table and curled his hand into a fist and extended the assimilation tubules, and let them wiggle like two small snakes searching for something to strike.

"Now for the Piece de résistance, ever been to Paris? Soon you will have. Gary four to beam to the base of the Eiffel Tower, engage."

Seconds later Sarah, Chuck, Gabriel and Sirella were surrounded by the same green glow that engulfed them on the plane and the found themselves standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

"Well does that put a rest to your questions Chuck?" quipped Sirella. "Feel free to walk around for a bit. I know you must be shaken from the plane crash and everything you have heard so far."

Chuck and Sarah were holding on to each other for dear life, the feel of each others bodies was the only thing that felt real about the entire day so far. They looked around to take it all in when Chuck noticed a TV through the window of a small café. It was showing the ground scene of a plane crash with a scroll underneath displaying United Flight 245. After Chuck pointed it out to Sarah the realization finally hit that the plane they were on earlier did indeed crash in a field in Kansas.

"Can we go back now?" Chuck asked in a shaky voice. With a nod of his head, Gabriel tapped his chest and seconds later they were back at HQ.

"Chuck and Sarah you now know all about us, but there is one more thing you need to know. As of this minute you two are dead, and have been since the plane crash. In order to save you we replaced your bodies and changed you DNA in the system. The Bartowski's will be declared dead. You now have a couple choices you can make, the first being to continue to work with us as the Carmichaels' and leave everything and everyone you know behind, letting them believe you did die in the crash. When the mission is over you return with us when we return to our time. The second is similar to the first, but we let a few people you know in on some of what you know and they come along as well. The third is the least favorable outcome for both of you. You reject our first two offers, and you do indeed die today. We cannot have you running around knowing what you know. If this knowledge got out it could be devastating to the future we know. There is a fourth option we are currently working on but it will take a while for us to figure out if it will work."

"Bullshit!" screamed Chuck and moved to advance on Gabriel his anger overcoming his common sense. Gabriel wasted no time in grabbing Chuck buy the neck and driving him backwards into the wall. Sarah jumped up and rushed to assist her husband. Before she could get close to Gabriel, she was grabbed from behind by a strong female hand and held back. She wheeled around to face her opponent and found herself staring into the face of a very enraged Sirella.

"Stand down Walker" Sirella growled out and applied enough pressure on Sarah's shoulder to force her to the ground.

By now Chuck was starting to fade into unconsciousness and Gabriel loosened his grip from around Chuck's throat. He got right in Chucks face and began to speak in a low deadly voice, "We saved your ass today. The plane you were on did crash and everyone on it did die. Use your head Chuck! You were supposed to die today! You're not supposed to be here at all. So grow the fuck up, and quite whining. You got a gift no one has ever gotten before, so embrace this gift for now, and figure out what you want to do. Know this, I will kill you and Sarah if I have too. Why we are here goes way beyond normal. I explained why we are here, there untold worlds that will be affected by what happens here today. Your two lives are meaningless in the scope of things to come. Before you leave here today we need your answers. I'm going to rule out option three, I trust you really want to live."

"We need a few minutes to talk about this. We'll go into the training area for some privacy," Sarah informed the group, as she led Chuck out of the main conference room. Once they were alone Sarah took a deep breath and spoke to her husband, "Wow can this get any more crazy than it was before? I think we should take option one. We can make up a story that we had to fake our deaths for some reason and we now go by the name Carmichael. If we play it right, we may have to be the only ones to leave. We don't really have much of a choice."

"I understand that but I would hate to never see Ellie, Devon, and our other friends again."

"You saw the wreckage of the plane we were on, which reminds me, we better give them our answer quickly because your sister knows what flight we were supposed to be on. She is probably mourning our death right now. The longer we wait the harder it's going to be on her and Devon."

"Crap! Sarah your right about Ellie, I'm sure we can work out the details later and let Beckman know what's going on, well, as much as we can. Plus we need to get on another flight out to LAX."

"So we take option one for now, and see what happens if we need to invoke option two. Let's head out and let them know what we decided. Let's go Chuck." They returned to the main conference room and were greeted by Gabriel's team.

"We're going to go for option number one for now, but reserve to call option number two if we need to. But first I need to call my sister she knows I was on the plane that crashed, she probably thinks I'm dead."

"Don't worry about your sister Chuck; we will take care of calling Ellie for you. With everything that has happened to you and Sarah today I think it's best if you don't speak to her until you have time to process everything. Now we have a plane to get you on."

**A/N 2: For those readers that are questioning the possible change in the future I'll explain my position. This story is based on the STV time line which happens after the original Star Trek timeline. In Star Trek IV: A Voyage Home the crew goes back in time to bring whales back with them to save earth. By completing the mission and saving Earth didn't they change the Future? If earth was destroyed along with most of the Federation leadership the timelines that followed would have been different, so the precedent was set to allow the future to be altered to save the present.**

**A/N 3: There are very few places to locate English to Klingon translations and most phrases don't translate well so excuse the broken English! **

'el maj tuq = enter our house

chaH legh vIp = they look afraid

chaH qIp Hegh = they beat death

tIq qIp 'ach = breath slowly

tlhuH QIt = heart beat even


	8. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Burbs**

**A/N: First let me thank BDaddyDL for the beta work and helping out some with the plot. Next I want to point out the brain synapses part is true to the best of my knowledge. I did extensive research on it before I included it in the chapter, and verified it on several medical sites. This is my take on the suburbs mission. I used it to give you the reader where in the cannon time line we are currently at. And for the final part of this note, I still don't own Chuck or STV however Gabriel and Sirella are still mine. Thanks for taking the time to read and if you would like to see something in the future let me know.**

After the ride to the airport and flight to LA Chuck and Sarah were ready to head to Ellie's. The greeting they got from Ellie went as expected, bone crushing hugs and squeals. Ellie was relieved when she got the call from Sam telling her that her brother was not on the plane that crashed in Kansas. The couples made their way to the couch and began to explain what had gone on.

"Ellie, there was a leak in the NSA and our real names were released. We don't believe it was intentional, but our covers were blown so we had to fake our deaths. It would have been harder to do ,but we got switched off the plane that crashed and put on a later one," said Chuck.

"We decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and use the crash as a cover for our deaths. It's amazing what the CIA and NSA can do if they want to. The down side is you will have to refer to us as the Carmichaels from now on," added Sarah.

Ellie was the first to speak up after Sarah finished her part of the explanation, "I need to wrap my head around what you just told us. You two, as the Bartowski's are dead, but as the Carmichaels are alive? Does that about cover it?"

"Got it in one sis," Chuck answered. "All of us have had a long day; I suggest we get to bed. Sarah and I will be around for a while doing a mission in the area." He held up his hands in the hold on motion and continued, "No Ellie, we don't expect any trouble on this mission. It should be a piece of cake."

Sarah let out an exasperated sigh and spoke, "Chuck, your're a self proclaimed trouble magnet, but this time I agree with you. It has been a long day. Ellie and Devon, if you would excuse us, we would like to get some sleep before we leave in the morning."

"No problem Sarah, you kids have a nice night."Devon answered for the both of them.

The next day Sarah and Chuck arrived at their _new _house in the suburbs. It took several trips to move their personal belongings from the self storage place the agency had stored their cover belongings in. They really needed to sell the image of a couple moving into a new house. The house hold goods had been delivered the day prior by the NSA. Just as the couple was finishing up the pizza they had ordered, there was a knock at the door. Chuck went to answer it.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Brad, and I am the self appointed welcoming committee for the neighborhood."

"Nice to meet you Brad, I'm Chris and this Seanna my wife." Chuck said while shaking the Brad's hand. Sarah mimicked Chuck's actions.

"The reason I stopped by is to let you know we have a neighborhood tradition. When someone moves in we have a barbeque in their honor. Sort of a meet and great if you will. Most of the couples on the block should be there. All you need to bring is a couple of side dishes. Potato salad, coleslaw, or that type of thing. It will at my house across the street around five tomorrow."

"That should be fine. I get home around four. I should have plenty of time to shower and change. My cousin has been helping us move. Would it be alright if he tagged along?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, so I'll see you then" shaking their hands again he turns and heads home.

Once back in the house Sarah begins to talk. "Did he seem a bit off to you?"

"No why?"

"He never checked me out. I'm not trying to sound vain but I seduced men quite a few time and they always checked me out. He just looked at my eyes."

"That is a problem; most men look you like a tiger stalking a gazelle. Something strange is going on here," said Chuck.

"You should be the one to keep an eye on him. If I do it he may think I'm coming on to him, and we know that's not going to happen."

"Sounds like a plan to me Sarah. Tomorrow you see if you can get anything out of the wives while I meet up with the west coast team. I'll see if they picked up any information Beckman doesn't have yet. I'll get Casey started on a check for any things that are out of the ordinary. Large quantities Fed Ex or UPS deliveries that kind of thing."

The next day passed quickly and soon it was time to go meet the neighbors. Sarah and Chuck were surprised they were actually having a good time. The only concern they had was their neighbors all seemed a bit to perfect. Brad turned out to be a stationary salesman. That is until Sylvia shows up and started making passes at Chuck. He remembered how Sarah got jealous when he met Sirella for the first time. He made up some excuse about needing help getting something from their house so he could calm her down.

"Sarah you need to calm down. You know I love you, so what's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal!" screams Sarah "That harpy has her hands all over you!"

"She only touched my arm a few times, and I brushed her off each time."

Fixing him a stern glare she informs him, "I can forgive once, but no more. She is practically undressing you with her eyes. If she touches you one more time I'm gonna knock that smile off her face!"

"No you won't Bartowski. You're going to let him get close to her." Casey says as he enters the room from the back yard.

"Are you nuts Casey!"

"Nope, I did some checking and found out her husband has been getting a lot of deliveries from a company that sells fiber optic and CAT 5 cables. If he is a lawyer as he says, why does he need that much? I think our best option is to get in the house, and have the Nerd do some investigating."

"Casey I can't break into someone's house yet. I haven't got my B and E license yet."

"Who said you have to break in to anything? It's clear as day she…" _Struck a nerve, did I?_

"Don't go there Casey" Sarah snaps at him. _No way in hell!_

"Don't get your panties in a twist Sarah it's …"

"Sooo not going to happen! I'll go in and check it myself." _He went there _

"I'm not saying he has to sleep with her. He just has to make her think he's interested in her to get inside. Then he spikes her drink, looks around, and gets out. Simple as that."

"Uh guys I'm still here you know." _This can't end well._

Sarah and Casey both looked at Chuck and at the same time said. "We know Chuck." .

"Sheesh, just checking. Sarah, you're not going to like this, but I agree with Casey. You don't use that much networking cable in a normal house. Her husband might be trying to hack into databases of companies or even the Government. The loony CIA agent lived here, so he could have gotten some of the access codes."

"I hate it when you're right. You can do it, but if I find one hair, the smallest smudge of lipstick or her perfume anywhere on your body you're a dead man!" _I_ _hope he's still scared of me_

"It's settled then. Tomorrow, Chuck pays a visit to blind Mrs. Grabby hands and makes his move."

**Next Day**

_So far so good, _thinks Chuck as he sits on the couch in Sylvia's living room. Chuck asked for a tour of the house so he could snoop without actually having to sneak around. In the master bed room he noted the presence of a computer, well server actually. He just had to figure out how to get back into the bedroom without doing something that would cause Sarah to inflict bodily harm on him. His plan was working until Sylvia started putting on the full court press. Casey's plan seemed the safest to him at this point. Just tranque the harpy, check out the server, and leave. As usual the fates conspired against Chuck.

"Chris I need some help. The computer in my bedroom is acting funny. Could you show me how to do a virus scan and see if it fixes the problem?" the whole time she was speaking she was getting closer to Chuck. Even though he was married to Sarah, beautiful women still had an adverse affect on Chuck. He still couldn't stop turning into a babbling idiot.

"I….what..its in your room…bedroom umm where you sleep. I'm not sure if that's a good idea." _Aw man I'm dead if Sarah finds out_

"Please Chris, I don't bite. Unless you ask nicely." _Oh yeah I got him now_

"I'll see what I can do."

Sylvia led Chuck to the bedroom where she attempted to kiss him. Chuck placed his arms on her shoulders pretending to pull her in for the kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch the drugs took effect and she collapsed on the bed. He powered up the server and began hacking into it. One quick flash and he was in. He felt the familiar feeling of an update start, and just as fast, it was over. In the past he would have himself flat on his ass. Ever since the new upload he got from Gabriel, each one after that had little effect on him. He just got all the answers he needed. He administered the antidote to the drugs he had given Sylvia.

"Sylvia, come on, wake up." Her eyes began to flutter slowly, "That's a girl wake up. Those drinks must have hit you pretty hard."

"Did you get in Chris?"

"I never got to try. You blacked out for a second and I tried to get you to come around."

"I think I'll be fine now. You better leave before my husband gets home."

"Or my wife kills me." Hoping he covered his tracks he leaves and returns home.

He no sooner gets in the door and Sarah is all over him like a dog in heat. _Sarah isn't actually sniffing me_? "In case you're interested, I know what's going on. Chuck told her"

"Just checking to make sure you listened. So what did you find out?"

"She wanted me to check out her computer because it was acting funny. She started getting frisky so I sedated her like we discussed. When I powered up the computer it went right to an intersect test download. I'm guessing it's a test because it was over in seconds. What I do know is, all of our neighbors are Fulcrum, and they have a hidden base under Brads' house. My best guess is they have an intersect of their own."

Any thoughts she had about the harpy left as soon as Chuck started explaining what he found out. "We have to let Beckman know. You call Casey, and I'll take care of Beckman."

Ten minutes later the trio was waiting for Beckman to appear. "What have we got team?"

"The Reader's Digest condensed version is the whole block is Fulcrum, they have their own version of the intersect, and they found a way to test the subjects before doing the full download" answered Chuck. "The information in the test strongly suggests the intersect room is under Brads house."

"Great work Chuck! I'll alert the NSA team in the area, and you inform Gabriel's people. The team should be there in less than fifteen minutes. When they arrive, they will take everyone into custody including you. I'm doing it this way in case they have spotters watching the block. Stay alert Beckman out."

"Chuck let's go before the teams get here. No sense in getting caught up in this mess." They left the house and began to make their way to the car. Suddenly, two men popped up from behind the driver's side of the car and began walking towards them. Chuck noticed a tiny bit of movement in his peripheral vision to his left. Several things happened at once.

Chuck turned to see what caught his eye and saw Sylvia and Brad standing there. She hissed "I know you got into our computer you need to come with us. Brad you take care of Chris while I take care of Seanna." Sylvia had a taser in her right hand pointing it at Sarah. Chuck's reaction was quicker than he even expected. His left hand shot out catching Sylvia on the wrist deflecting the taser just as she pulled the trigger. The wires flew wide of Sarah, and she began to advance on Brad. Chuck was now acting on his instincts which had improved from the months of training with Sarah. Chuck went to throw a straight right hand at Sylvia's head but hesitated when he realized it was a girl he was about to hit. This split second of hesitation allowed Sylvia to land a left hook that staggered Chuck. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. All of a sudden, it was as if switch was thrown, all the hours he had spent training in the Dojo with Sarah kicked in. Sylvia's left leg was heading straight for the side of his head from her round house kick. Chuck snapped his head to the left and twisted his body to avoid the blow. The kick struck a glancing blow to his temple. Chuck quickly launched into a counter attack throwing a straight right that connected squarely to her jaw. He followed that with a left hook to the body that caused her to bend over in pain. Chuck finished her off with a knee to the face rendering her unconscious. He stepped behind Sarah who was exchanging blows with Brad.

Sarah had already exchanged several blows with Brad when she felt Chuck's presence behind her. She snapped her right leg forward in a powerful front kick driving Brad backwards a few steps. He started his counter attack with a weak left jab that was easily blocked by Sarah. She countered with right cross and continued through the punch landing her elbow as well. Blood was now flowing freely from Brad's broken nose. She swept his left leg knocking him to the ground where she finished him off with a vicious side kick to his head. She turned to where she heard the telltale sound of punches being landed.

Chuck was currently in a fight with two men, and he was barely holding his own. From her brief look she could see he had several bruises and cuts. She flew into the fray landing a flying side kick to the man not currently exchanging blows with Chuck. That knocked him back several feet. Knowing he had help, Chuck could now concentrate all his attacks on his opponent. He could feel himself tiring, and knew that he had to end this soon. His ribs were hurting from the punches and kicks he had taken. His breathing was coming harder than normal, impaired by the damage to his ribs. He knew for sure there was a cut over his left eye, courtesy of a kick, and the blood was starting to impair his vision. Chuck launched a full on offensive, using every move he could. He started off with a furious series of leg kicks mixing a few well placed punches. His opponent was good, just not as good. Chuck saw the opening he needed. The man's left hand was down holding his ribs that had damaged from some of Chucks earlier punches and kicks. With all the remaining strength he had he sent a round house kick to the man's head snapping it sideways and not allowing his momentum to stop he followed up with a vicious spinning back hand that sent him into unconsciousness. Chucks last bit of energy spent, he collapsed to his knees sucking in large gulps of air as best he could.

Sarah was starting to tire as well. Her opponent was bigger and stronger, but she was quicker. She was landing more punches and kicks, but his were doing more damage. She caught a quick glimpse of Chuck falling to his knees but kept up her attack sensing he was ok. Her opponent dodged her overhand left and landed a straight right to her jaw rocking her backwards. She was in trouble and knew it. She saw her opponent starting to unleash a front kick when he suddenly vanished from her view. Her energy now spent she joined Chuck in falling to her knees.

The NSA team along with some Gabriel's team arrived in short order. As the team pulled into the cul-de-sac they could see Chuck and Sarah engaged in hand to hand combat with two men. From what they could tell it was nip and tuck for the two agents. The NSA team lead ordered his team to cordon off the area. Casey nearly flew out of the vehicle he was in and came to aid of his partner who was not fairing all that well, and Chuck who was on his knees. When they got to the house the team fanned out and started rounding up the remaining Fulcrum agents. They soon had the entire neighborhood arrested and carted off.

She looked up from her knees and saw Casey perched on the back of the man she had been fighting cuffing him.

"You taught Bartowski well. I saw him take out that last guy with one hell of an impressive move. Although, to be honest, you two look like shit" Casey informed her with a touch of admiration in his voice.

"Thanks Casey" Sarah says with a bit of pride "but I have to check on Chuck. He was taking on two of them before I could help him out." Casey escorted her over to where Liz and Cameron from Gabriel's west coast team are tending to Chuck near what appears to be a medical vehicle.

"Sarah, we need to have a look at you as well. Have a seat" states Liz "Your bio sensor's are showing you should be ok, and have you no major injuries. You have a few minor cuts and some pretty good bruises. Chuck suffered a couple of bruised ribs, and has a cut over his left eye that Cameron is stitching up as we speak. You two will be fine in a couple of days.

At the same time Liz was treating Sarah, Chuck was being tended to by Cameron. She went over his injuries, "You have a couple of bruised ribs and a cut over your left eye. Your life sign implants show you to be in good shape other than the ribs and cut. I'm going to stitch you up and wrap your ribs. Liz is taking care of your wife as we speak." When the injuries were done being treated the couple headed to the car they had used for the mission.

"Sarah, I'm sorry, I froze when I went to hit her for the first time. I could have gotten us killed."

"Chuck, it was your first real fight. You never hit a woman before, and you only hesitated a second. At one point you were taking on two attackers, and doing pretty good against them. I couldn't more proud of you than I am right now. You did very well for your first time."

"You know, we both look like crap right now don't you? Plus, my ribs hurt like hell. I just want the briefing to get over so I can shower, and go to sleep. Then, I have to tell Ellie how I got the snot kicked out of me. I mean look at us. It's not like she isn't going to notice."

"Stop right there Chuck. You did not get the snot kicked out of you. You have only been training for a couple of months, and you knocked out a trained agent. With what Casey described to me as an impressive move. So please stop selling yourself short."

"I don't want to face Ellie tonight, so why don't we just come back here? We can relax on the couch and watch a movie after we get cleaned up. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a very good idea. Now let's get Casey, and go to the briefing."

**The Nest an hour later**

At the nest the massive monitors came to life. General Beckman was on the left, and Gabriel and Sirella on the right.

"Chuck and Sarah, you look like shit." quipped Beckman who had just a hint of a smile on her face.

"So we keep hearing Ma'am" they both replied.

"Major Casey, can you please tell me why two of your team mates look like something the cat threw up?"

"Yes Ma'am." Casey explained the fight he witnessed as he was pulling up. He also confirmed that Chuck's suspicion about the location of the Fulcrum Intersect was correct. The NSA team, with the help of Gabriel's computer expert, was in the process of down loading the Fulcrum intersect.

"General I'd like to offer my opinion on something if I may?" asked Gabriel.

"If your suggestion has merit, I will consider it."

"I know the intersect is your project, and I am just helping out your team." This drew a chuckle from Beckman's team. "Sirella and I feel we have a great opportunity here. We have the information from Fulcrums intersect so we should use it. The combination of your data and theirs combined will be a huge advantage in stopping Fulcrum. Let my techs have it, and in few days, before your team leaves, we upload Chuck."

"I'm not a computer!" Chuck informed the group.

"Yes you are," Chorused the group.

"I like the idea, but it's not up to me. I'll leave it up to the Bartowski's to decide. It's his brain it's going into. Chuck and Sarah, get back to me as soon as you decide. Chuck, one last thing before I go; I am very impressed at the progress you are making with your training. I have been going over the reports that I get from you two trainers. You are well ahead of where we predicted you should be at this point. This last mission proves to me that you have the potential to be one of our best agents, if not the best. You and Sarah together will be amazing. Adding Major Casey to the mix may make you unbeatable. Several months ago I was dead set against you and Sarah having a relationship at all. I threatened to reassign then agent Walker until I was gently persuaded to sanction your relationship. It seems this person was correct. Love can indeed make you work harder and perform better. You did very well Chuck. Keep up the good work. Beckman out."

Three stunned agents sat around the table with the words Beckman just finished saying still running in their heads. They were caught up in their musings until Gabriel broke the silence.

"Chuck, what are your thoughts on uploading the data we recovered from the Fulcrum intersect?"

"Huh…sorry… I'm still trying to process what the General just said. You know about me becoming one of the best Agents she has. Not really sure about that one though. I just wanted to get better ya know, and not get in the way all the time like I had been doing. It took me by surprise."

"Chuck," Sarah says breaking Chucks rambling "take a deep breath and relax. What Beckman just told us should not come as that big of a surprise. The CIA was looking at recruiting you when you were in Stanford. If Bryce hadn't gotten you kicked out, you would have gotten recruited back then."

"I'm only going to say this once Bartowski. You've surprised me. I watched you kick that guys ass into next week during the fight. I am going to leave so you two can decide if you're gonna stuff more crap in his head. I want to make sure the clean up teams got everything." With that Casey gets up and leaves.

"I understand the importance of me uploading Fulcrums data, but Casey brought up a valid point. How much can I stuff up here? Will it be safe?" Chuck says pointing to his head.

"Let me get the Doc in here to explain it."

Sarah put her hand over Chucks and said. "If the Doc thinks it's safe and won't cause you any damage I think you should do it. We have this monster mission to complete. But the most important thing to me is you. I am not willing to risk what we have for the job. I have done that already, and it almost cost me you."

"Guess you and I think alike. Doc, welcome to the party," added Chuck.

"You have some concerns about how much stuff, as you call it, can you stick in your head. There is no clear answer to that. I'll do my best to explain. Our best possible guess of the average human brain's capacity would by calculating using the number of synapses connecting the neurons in the human brain. Because each of the synapses has different molecular states, we estimate each of them to be capable holding one megabyte worth of memory. Since the brain has 100-trillion-synapses, we can safely say that the average brain can hold about 100 million megabytes of memory."

"Even though the brain can store that much information it is not like a computer. There are no files or folders that you can access when you need to look up something. Think about this for a moment. Have you ever tried to remember the name of a movie and come up blank? You know you know it but just can't remember it. Then a couple hours later it pops into your mind? What makes you different than most all other humans is the ability to process that data. I have reviewed the data from the test subjects Fulcrum used. Most of them died or went insane. My theory is that the amount of data didn't kill them it was the brains trying to process it. Their brains put so much effort into it that it affected their other systems. It's a theory but it's the best I can do. So to answer your question it is safe, for you yes. I have been keeping track of your life signs from the implant. So far everything is normal."

"Thank's Doc. When can we be ready to hook me up?"

"Give us two days to get the upload ready. My techs say it will take a while. They are going to compare the data in both versions and eliminate redundant information to save space and avoid conflicts. We also reviewed the stops you made in Europe and the contacts you developed. They have come up with a way to supply you with language skills. You'll be getting the most commonly spoken languages and a few other goodies. It will be a two part process. During the first phase the old version will be removed. Then we will upload the new version. So I would recommend you go and hang out with you sister and Devon."

"I guess we'll see you in a couple of days. Let's go Sarah."

On the way to the house they had used for the mission they discussed the events of the day and the mission they just completed. With Ellie and Devon flying back to Philadelphia with them, they needed a way to tell the couple what awaited them upon their arrival at the residence. They also came up with a plan that would hopefully not shock his sister. The hardest part of the plan would be telling them about the house. The living there was easy. The CIA owned it. The hard part will be telling her that they actually owned it. The next couple days went by quickly for the two couples. Sarah and Chuck did take a couple hours for Chuck to upload the new intersect.

Ellie and Devon's house got packed up, and all the items were shipped out. Casey had arranged a NSA moving team to take of everything including Ellie's and Devon's cars. It was time to head back east and finish getting ready for the holidays. As they were heading to the airport, Ellie started wonder where they were headed.

"Chuck you missed the turn for the rental return. You need to go back" Ellie informed him.

"No sis were not going to the main terminal, we are going to a private terminal to catch our flight."

"What do mean private?"

"What Chuck means Ellie is we will be flying on our personal jet courtesy of the CIA. We'll be flying on a Gulfstream G550 I think you'll like it. We don't need to return the car, we have someone on site who will take it back" explained Sarah.

"There's Casey. We should get moving. Chuck please help Devon with the bags, while we board the plane."

As soon as Ellie entered the plane se looked and said. ".GOSH! Sarah this is incredible. This is wild. I have never been on anything this before. It's sure going to beat flying coach"

"So far we like it, actually what's not to like. It has good range, just over six thousand miles. It normally seats twelve but we changed it. We had it modified a bit and took out some seats and added a private room with a bed for our longer flights. We have specially designed phones that allow us to communicate while in flight. There are some other perks, but you probably don't want to hear. We better get seated Chuck and Devon are boarding," explained Sarah.

"If you guys are ready to go I'll inform the flight crew" stated Casey.

"I think we're ready to go Casey" answered Chuck as he took his seat next to Sarah.

They spent most of the flight trying to figure out the things they wanted to do over the holidays. When they got about an hour out from Philadelphia Chuck and Sarah got up and went into their private suite. When they emerged twenty minutes later Ellie was again rendered speechless. Gone was the nerdy brother she had known all her life. He had been replaced by a man who stood taller and had an air of confidence about him. His normal attire of slacks and logo tee shirt was gone. Chuck stood before her wearing a light grey Armani jacket with matching trousers. Under the jacket he had on a light blue shirt open at the collar. Sarah was dressed to impress as well in a Ralph Lauren below the knee sheath dress in a dark blue. Ellie thought they look excellent together.

"You two look awesome, but why did you change? Chuck, when did you get such a sense of fashion?"

"Let's just say it's for the job. We only have a few minutes before we land, but we will explain it all when we get to our place."

"I have to admit bro, you two look very good. But it's weird seeing you look so professional" added Devon.

It wasn't long before they were on the ground and headed to the residence. Thankfully the weather was cooperating with them. It was a clear day with a slight breeze. The temperature was in the middle fifties, a little warmer than usual. As they got close Chuck leaned in and whispered in his wife's ear, "Are you ready for this?" Sarah responded with a nod of her head. As they pulled up to the main gate both Ellie and Devon were in awe of the place that her sister in law called home.

"Dude that house is so awesome! I can't believe the CIA put you in a friggin mansion" exclaimed Devon.

"You're kidding right? There is no way they put you in that place. We're just dropping you off for a business dinner that's the real reason you got changed" echoed Ellie clearly not believing they actually lived here. Having reached the front door they exited the limo and headed inside.

"Trust me Sis this is where we live. We prefer to call it our residence. Sarah told you we would explain so let us show you around and explain at the same time." Chuck took Sarah's hand and they began the tour explaining as they went. Chuck led them into a large room that semi detached from the main building. Three of the 'walls' were windows, as was the ceiling, which offered a stunning view of the clear December sky. The room was modestly decorated and contained three white leather French Louis XVI style chairs, with matching ottomans and sofa. "This is the conservatory; it offers a great view of the gardens. Sarah and I come out her a lot to have our morning coffee. I can't say much about what we are doing but this is all part of our cover, well mostly. We need to fit in with the filthy rich. Our house, clothes and cars have to reflect our wealth. The worst part for us is the etiquette lessons we have to take."

"Your brother is right, the lessons stink. The reason we were globetrotting was to hit all the fashion capitols to get our wardrobes. Everything you see here is ours" She sneaks a glance and gets his nod of approval "that includes the residence."

It took a few seconds Chuck guessed till the unexpected happened. He was waiting for the words of disbelief he was sure would come. They never came. Ellie looked eerily familiar to himself when he first started to flash. First the glazed look, followed by the fluttering of the eyes. This was where the similarities ended._ Ellie please don't. _Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted dead away. _Chuck was so sure it would work better if I told her. Guess not._ Devon was not quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor, but he did slow her descent enough to prevent her from hitting her head.

"Chuck, give me a hand getting her to the sofa" urged Devon. It took several minutes before Ellie got lucid enough to talk.

"This all yours" Ellie's voice was barely above a whisper. Ellie was still not able to wrap her head around what she was being told or seeing with her own eyes. "You… own… a mansion? I need a drink" shaking her head in disbelief.

They ended the tour in the family room. Chuck retrieved a couple of bottles of wine for the group and for Casey his normal glass of Macallan 30 year single malt scotch.

"You know Bartowski" he says while tipping his glass in a mock salute "this is one big perk. So much better than the stuff I normally drink."

"You really should thank the people that stocked this place. There is no way the NSA or CIA would spring for that Scotch or those rare imported cigars."

"I only have one glass a day and I savor every single bit of it."

"I guess it's time for the explanation to begin. I'll start off, and Chuck can fill in when needed." And Sarah did just that. They explained the best they could without letting them in on to many details or the seriousness of the mission. It took a while, but when they finished, his sister had a better idea of what exactly Chuck did.

"I know you guys must be tired, it has been a long day. Plus, Ellie still doesn't look so good, and it might be a good idea for you to get some rest." Chuck and Sarah rose from their seats and motioned for Devon and Ellie to follow them. "We'll show you to your room it's on the opposite end of the hall from ours. It has a full bathroom, so you can get refreshed before going to bed. No need to worry, it's fully stocked with anything you may need. If you need anything else, give us a call. There is a phone beside the bed. Push the button marked master bedroom and we'll pick up." Chuck gave Ellie a hug and peck on the cheek good night and shakes Devon's hand. Sarah hugs them both and heads down the hall to their room.


	9. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Casey gets Promoted**

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while between updates. It's not that I don't have the material written, it's because I can't find a Beta that I can use full time. If any of you would like to help out or know of someone who can please let me know. This chapter was Betad by Rockchick4jc, thanks for the help on this one! For anyone joining this story late it contains mention of same sex relationships between non cannon pairings, but no actual sex. If you are offended by that please go elsewhere. For the disclaimers: I still don't own Chuck, STV, or the Princess universe. They are all owned by someone else. I do however own Gabriel, Sirella and the OFCs used in this work. If you like this story, dislike it or just find it boring leave a review and let me know what I can to do to make it better, after all I'm just writing it, you guys are the ones reading it! To those of you that are still reading, thank you and I hope you enjoy this update.**

23 Dec 2008

Ellie and Devon were woken from their slumber by the sunlight streaming in the large windows the lined the one wall of their room. After giving each other a few good morning kisses, they made their way to find Chuck. It took a few extra minutes to find the kitchen but it was worth the trip. They prepared their coffee and snagged a couple of danishes from a tray sitting beside the coffee maker. Propped up next to the tray was a note telling them that Chuck was in the conservatory with Sarah and they should meet the couple there.

"You know Babe," Devon started off "this whole thing your brother is involved in is way more complicated than I could ever imagine. I don't see how he does it."

"Seriously Devon, complicated is the best you can come up with? Ok, I accepted him being a spy; I still don't like it, but I accept it. He shows up after I haven't seen him for almost four months and he looks like he went ten rounds with Mike Tyson! Sarah didn't look that much better." Ellie let out an exasperated sigh, "When they explained what happened it finally sank in how much danger my little brother could get into. It scares me you know?"

"Ellie, Chuck's a big boy now. You have to let him go. From what I can see he has good people around him" replies Devon in a calming tone. "Casey is military, Sarah is one of the best at what she does, and from what Sarah told us about the fight Chuck can more than hold his own. Plus it's not all bad they own this place. Chuck has a woman he loves and she loves him just as much. They own a mansion and a private jet what more could you ask for?"

"Chuck not to get the crap beat out of him, and me not having to worry about him getting killed or captured would be fine. But you are right- he wants to do this and he is good at it. I'm sure I'll feel better about it in time. Let's go find them. Hopefully we don't get lost again." And they headed off to meet up with her brother and his wife.

When they arrived in at the conservatory Chuck and Sarah were already sitting on the sofa together drinking coffee and eating their breakfast. "Morning Sis how'd you sleep?"

"That bed was incredible! We both slept very well thank you. The view from this room is breath taking. It must be really beautiful when all the flowers are in bloom."

"I'm sure it is Ellie" Sarah chimed in scooting closer to Chuck "I can't wait until spring to watch nature unfold its beauty before my eyes. It's been so long since I even cared about things like this. Your brother has helped bring what really matters back to me. I am enjoying more things than ever before and I feel really good about it."

"So what do you have planned for us today little brother?"

"I thought we would start with a tour of the city, after the tour is finished we can have dinner at Le-Bec-Fin and as a finale visit South Street and do some dancing."

"That sounds like so much fun!" squealed Ellie "How much time before we go?"

"Our ride should be here within the hour so you need to be ready to go in half an hour. It takes a few minutes to get to our ride for the day. Meet us back here when you are ready."

At the appointed time the couples met up and headed out to get to their ride. They were met by Casey in a fully enclosed golf cart.

"Chuck, why the golf cart?"

"I told you we are going to catch our ride so we can tour the City. Sisters, what can you do with them?" He said shaking his head. This comment earned him a smack on the arm from said sister.

"Hurry up the ride's about two minutes out" stated Casey "It's going to be a tight fit in there but we don't have all that far to go." Chuck sat up front with Casey while Devon sat in the back between Sarah and Ellie. They headed away from the house towards the back of the property and as the golf cart came to a halt a soft wump wump wump could be heard as their ride arrived. Landing right in front of them was a glossy black Bell 430 helicopter. When the rotors slowed to the acceptable level, a man jumped out signaling them to advance and load the aircraft. The two couples headed toward the aircraft with Devon and Ellie practically having to be dragged by Chuck and Sarah. Once they were all safely loaded on board the 430 took off and headed toward the city.

They had just past by Penn's landing and were heading to get a view of the sports complexes when they got a call to return to the residence for a new mission. A soon as they landed Casey was waiting for them in the golf cart and rushed them to the house and herded them to the communications room leaving Ellie and Devon in the hall. Casey placed the call as soon as the room was secure. Within seconds the screen flickered to life and the sight that greeted them was strange to say the least. Gabriel and Sirella were seated in General Beckman's bedroom, the General was seated on the edge of her bed and Jennifer was at a makeup table applying her makeup. The General was the first to speak. "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon and where are Devon and Ellie?"

"What do you mean Ma'am? We were told to come back and report in for a mission" answered Chuck.

"That bone head I passed the information must have screwed up the message, get the other couple in here before I finish the briefing because it concerns them as well."

Minutes later all the requested parties are in the room and the General began "Tonight is the annual Presidential Holiday Gala. Gabriel and I have been touting your achievements to the President for the last couple of months. He knows Gabriel and me pretty well and he asked to meet the other members of one of his best teams. Therefore, you five are required to be here by nineteen hundred hours. Andrews Air Force Base has been notified of your arrival and a limo will meet you upon your arrival. Ellie I'm sure your brother and his wife can get you ready for tonight so we'll see you in a couple of hours." And she closed the connection.

The two couples plus Casey were stunned. Casey and Sarah not so much for a variety of reasons, Casey in his time with the NSA and been to many meetings and other events with high ranking public officials. As part of her training to be an agent Sarah had spent some time with the Secret Service acting as part of a protection detail for visiting heads of state. She had been in the same room as the President but never had to meet him face to face.

Hit hardest were the two doctors and the nerd. The two doctors were a little higher up on the panic scale, while they had been to several galas thrown buy the hospital as fund raisers they had never met anyone higher that a local congressman. Their biggest concern was what to wear. Chuck was hardest hit by the announcement. Granted he was doing well in his training but he had just started to get over the fear of talking to a general. Now he was going to have to meet and speak with the most powerful man in the world. It left him speechless and added another thing to his crazy stuff that happened to me list. He was mentally trying see if it fit better between getting the intersect and becoming an agent for the CIA and marrying Sarah, or between the intersect and the mansion. There was no doubt in his mind the craziest thing that ever happened to him was marrying Sarah. That would always be number one in his books.

Sarah could sense that Chuck and gone off into his own little world nudged him lightly to shake him out of it. "Come on Chuck we need to get those two ready. You take Devon to the tuxedo place and I'll take Ellie shopping. I found a place that some really nice gowns. I'm sure they will have something that will fit her off the rack. Casey are you good?"

"Yeah I got it covered; I have my tux from that solo mission I ran while you guys were globetrotting around Europe. While you're out I'll arrange for the bird to arrive here around five. Considering the flight time plus the drive to the White House we should have plenty of time."

From that point on everything went better than could be expected. They arrived at the White House just before 7 and waited in the long line of limos until it was their turn. When their turn came Casey exited first followed by Devon and Ellie then Chuck and Sarah. The three men were wearing single breasted black tuxedos with matching cummerbunds and bow ties. Ellie had found a calf length halter sheath in a deep wine color. Sarah chose an off the shoulder Armani Prive gown in royal blue. She picked this dress because Chuck said it made her eyes stand out.

They quickly found the General and her companion for the evening, Jennifer. General Beckman was wearing her formal dress uniform and Jennifer was wearing a dark green ball gown. Gabriel and Sirella where there as well just not with the General. They were off to the side chatting with several other guests. After an hour of socializing General Beckman left the party she was with and returned a short time later with a man in a black suit. Everyone figured he was Secret Service.

"Gentlemen and ladies if you would please follow me" he spoke and led them to one of the offices away from where the gala was being held. "Ma'am you have fifteen minutes before the President wants me to bring you to his table. I'll be back to get you just before that." And he left

"Not much for words is he?" quipped Chuck.

"Major Casey because of your unique job and position normal protocol cannot be followed but somehow I don't think you'll mind. With an effective date of 22 December 2008 you have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Congratulations Colonel Casey" finished General Beckman.

"Thank you General it is an honor and privilege to serve my Country."

"Congratulations John" exclaimed Ellie.

"Awesome Dude" decreed Devon extending his hand.

"We've been partners for a while now and I know you deserve it. Congratulations Casey" Sarah said as she moved towards him and gave him a hug.

"Guess you didn't see that one coming did you big guy. I see putting up with me has been worth it huh. Seriously Casey good job" Chuck surprises everyone by following his wife's lead and hugs Casey. There was a knock at the door and it opened. The same agent who lead them here pops his head in and says "The President will see you now"

It was a short time later the small group found itself in conversation the President. It was not much more than a meet and greet. The normal nice to meet you and it's an honor were exchanged. Nothing mission related was discussed because as the President said "it's a party after all". Everyone was a little more relaxed after Casey's promotion so there were only a few stammered words. They had spent about ten minutes with the President before he excused himself to converse with some of the other guests.

They returned to their table and relaxed while discussing Casey's promotion and various other topics. Once the President's meet and greet time was over the small band started to play. The couples began to hit the dance floor changing partners on a frequent basis. Casey being the "Man of Honor" had to dance with all the Women at least once. When the evening was drawing to a close General Beckman invited the Agents she worked with to meet some of her friends. While she was introducing them to another Army General and a Naval Admiral, Gabriel's ear wig came to life.

"Gabe, Chucks Gallian sensor is off the charts" Sam's voice could be heard "he has to be within ten feet of one. I need you to get me a visual."

"I can't get that close Sam. I served under the General he is with for a couple of years. He will definitely know who I am. We can't risk it. When I get back I can download the information from my cortical node then we will send a small team to bring him in."

"Roger Gabe, Sam out" and his ear wig went silent.

As the gala was finally drawing to a close Casey called for the limo to come and get them. While the trio of spies were showing no signs of tiring out the two doctors were exhausted. Combining the change in time zones, lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions they had under gone the past few days they were worn out. Ellie and Devon barely stayed awake on the ride to Andrews and they fell asleep almost as soon as the Bell 430 left the ground. The three agents spent most of the flight back talking over the gala they just left and how surprised Casey was at getting promoted. What Chuck and Sarah found most amusing about the night was how the General interacted with Jennifer. Every time the General introduced them to somebody she always said "I'm sure you remember my assistant Jennifer" who only rolled her eyes and sighed. Sarah noticed as the night went on how the two women interacted. It was not very surprising that they were able to keep their relationship mostly under wraps. When they were around other military types Jen was the prim and proper assistant. When they were alone she was a completely different person. That went for the General as well.

Gabriel and Sirella left shortly after they found one of the Gillian's. They discreetly made their way outside and out of sight before they called for a transport back to the east coast nest. "Samantha Wildman, do you have anything else for me?" he says with a chuckle.

"Give it a rest Gabe, I've known Seven for years now and she still calls me that. You know it drives me nuts so knock it off. As soon as you download the picture I'll start running it through our data base and see if we get any hits. I'll also print out any pictures or names we come up with for Chuck to take a look at. We just can't tell them who is Fulcrum they need to do that part on their own. You said it yourself we need to fly as far below the radar as we can."

"That sounds like a plan to me. Let's hope we get some where this time."

5 Jan 2009

During the previous week Ellie and Devon had gone to and settled into their new house on the outskirts of Baltimore. The three members of team Bartowski were waiting their weekly video conference with General Beckman. "Good afternoon team. Gabriel will be joining us shortly. He has asked me for your help on a small mission. I have agreed to his request. Have you learned anything from the daily reports Chuck?"

"Yes General I have. On one of the reports I saw several names that could have a possible tie in with Fulcrum. The disturbing part is that these men may be tied to Admiral Smith who you introduced us to at the gala. I didn't flash on him so I don't think he's Fulcrum. We believe he maybe indirectly passing information or funds to Fulcrum via a third party."

"Would you please explain to me Chuck how your team came up with your assessment?"

"Admiral Smith is in control of the Navy's Office of Naval Research which develops many of the Navy's high tech communications, intelligence and surveillance equipment. He has a lot of interaction with the head of one of the companies that produces the new equipment. Not in a way that would be considered a conflict of interest but enough that he may be tempted to push research or production in their direction. This company also has ties to the men we suspect to be Fulcrum. I know it's a weak theory but there is no sense in taking chances. By pushing the work to this company if Fulcrum has an inside man that we don't know about they could access to the Navy's latest equipment."

"In case you are right I will start the process of putting those men under a moderate surveillance and see if we can get any more information. Gabriel will be along shortly." And like always she's gone. Several minutes later the screen comes back to life and Gabriel is ready to begin his part of the briefing.

"Good morning team, my information is directly related to the information the General has already passed on to you. I believe Admiral Smith is one of the people my teams have been searching for the last couple of years. Your mission is simple. I need you to get into his house and plant a couple of our bugs and install one of our programs on his computer. If he has more than one computer just pick one and our program will take of the rest. It can 'sense' any computers attached a single router and will spread its self to any other computers that use that specific router. There is no danger of him hooking his work laptop up to his home router and then taking his laptop to work and the program spreading. We will meet up in the nest as soon as you can get here. I have already arranged for your helicopter to pick you and bring you to the Nest where I will give you what you need. Any question you have can wait till then." and he signed off.

"You know guys, he is getting more like the General every day," huffed Chuck.

"Why?" his wife asked.

"He used to say good bye or something like it."

"Enough dawdling you two. Let's get a move on; we have a briefing to get to." declared Casey.

They arrived at the Nest half an hour early, mostly because Casey has been trying to get Chuck into the mind set of 'if your CO calls for a briefing at thirteen hundred you best be there by twelve forty-five.' They were sitting at the conference table waiting for Gabriel and Sirella to arrive and start the briefing.

"Now that all the important players are here let me get started." Gabriel began reading the brief that his local team had prepared as the power point slides popped up on the monitor. "The Admiral lives in McLean, Virginia in an area that is semi-secluded. The house was built in the fifties and is a rambler design." he paused for a second, "What the hell does rambler design tell me? It sounds like the name of the first car I drove. A sixty one Rambler Classic. Really, people, do we have the floor plans or not? Sirella I want my West Coast team here by COB tomorrow. Send those idiots Paris and Kim out there. If they can't keep their hands off each other long enough to put together a decent power point briefing maybe they can learn to surf."

While Gabriel went on his little rant, team Bartowski was sitting there wondering what was going on. Casey could not believe a man as highly decorated as Gabriel would have such a lack of discipline. Sarah thought his rant sounded like some of the bickering that she did with Chuck. Chuck, the brainiac of the group was just trying to figure out how cars and houses go together other than in a garage.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Harry is one of the best programmers we have but Tom is the history buff and likes it here." Sirella pointed out as she walked up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"It wouldn't matter to those two if I sent them to Iceland as long as they were together. Harry can just email the programs or leave it on the server." Gabriel gathered himself to get back on track. "I will have the floor plan ready for you before you begin the mission. Chuck and Casey are going to be running this operation and Sarah you will be in the van providing over watch and feeding data to Chuck and Casey. The cover is 'the Admiral wants to build a fence and wants to ensure he does not go over his property line. He called you in to survey the property line and verify it matches what is on the deed.' You need to enter through the rear door. The house sits on a small rise and only the middle and upper floors are visible from the street. The lower floor is below the hill but accessible from the rear door which enters into the family room. The only security we know of is the Brinks Home defense system. Chuck should easily be able to defeat it and allow entrance into the house. From there, follow Sarah's instructions and plant the bugs and the program. I have special tranq pistols for this mission. If by chance the Admiral comes home unexpectedly, use them. Do you have any questions?" he was answered only by a couple of head shakes. "Good, I'll see you back here in a couple of hours then."

On the way to the mission site they discussed the fact that despite all their combined training none of them knew the first thing about surveying. Chuck said he had it covered and tapped his head. A short while later found the team outside the Admiral's house. Chuck flashed on the proper way to conduct a survey and they began setting up the equipment. They made their way to the rear of the house and contacted Sarah.

"How are we looking?" asked Chuck.

"You're in the clear so far. There is light vehicle traffic but none on foot. I've tapped into the brinks system and have disabled the alarm. You are clear to enter."

"Roger. Ok Casey get us in."

Casey picked the locks and they were in."We're in the family room. I'm going to start planting Gabriel's bugs while Chuck locates the computer."

"Chuck, there should be a small room down the hall to your left. It could be a small office. Casey, take the hall to the right about fifteen feet down there should be a set of stairs that goes to the main living area."

"Damn it's the laundry room. Where to next?" Chuck informed Sarah.

"Follow Casey, there is another possible room beside the main living room."

"I am on it. Casey, how you making out?"

"I have three planted and just want to put one more in the master bedroom. Which way, Sarah?"

"Face the front door. To your right there is a small foyer. At the end of the foyer is the master bedroom."

"Chuck, you need to go the opposite way from Casey. There is a short hall that has two doors on the right and one on the left. It should be in the room on the left."

"Bingo! I am booting it up now I should be done in a few minutes." Chuck was pretty good at hacking on his own but not wanting to hold up Casey he flashed on the required skills and was in the computer in under a minute. He uploaded the program and shut the system down. "My end is done. Casey, how about you?"

"I just finished with the last one and I am heading you way. Let's blow this popsicle stand"

He met up with Chuck in the main living area and they retraced their steps and made their way out of the house. Just as Chuck was locking the door they heard Sarah over the communications link "We got trouble guys; the Admiral just pulled up."

"We're outside the house. Turn the alarms back on and we will collect our stuff. Let us know when he's inside."

"He's pulling into his garage right now so grab your shit and let's get out of here."

"We'll be there in a few" the pair grabbed the surveying equipment and loaded it back in the van and pulled away.

Once they returned to the Nest Gabriel, Sirella and the Doc were waiting for them. They informed Gabriel that the mission was complete and deemed it success because it went exactly as it had been planned.

"While we have you here I want Doc to go over the bio scans we have been recording during your missions. Doc please review your findings for the team."

"First I want you to know we only keep recordings or monitor you while on missions. What you do on your own time is filtered out as irrelevant data."

"Casey I am going to skip yours because you remained constant with your baseline readings we took when we implanted the sensors. While you did on occasion show some elevated levels these were expected because the biggest change occurred during the fight in Burbank." Casey nodded his head in approval.

"Sarah, you also showed very little change from the base line except on the mission in Burbank. On several instances your lines went off the charts. I can rule out the last one as well because it occurred during the fight. Can you explain why prior to that your bio levels spiked several times?"

_Ah shit I am never going to live this down._ "I believe they were caused by that harpy putting her hands all over Chuck and then when he had to seduce her to get into her computer. I'm jealous ok? There, I said it."

"Those were my thoughts as well but I had to confirm it. Chuck, yours are all over the place. On the first couple missions you ran for Beckman getting the information on the charity, they were very high. They get better on the mission where you had to plant the first bugs in Wells' office. Today they were almost rock solid equal to you baseline. During the mission in Burbank your levels went almost through the roof. At one point I almost called for an extraction. Then I noticed they corresponded to Sarah's elevated levels. Like Sarah, can you explain what happened?"

"It was the stupid plan we came up with for me to seduce the harpy. As you all know I'm nervous enough around good looking women. But then I had to get close to one with Sarah knowing what I was doing I thought she was going to kill me! Sorry babe but it's true."

"Well that explains it. Sarah, you need to relax more about Chuck. I have never seen a couple so mentally in tune with each other before except maybe our boss and her wife. It shows in the scans that you to are forming a tight mental and emotional bond that only you two can destroy by your own insecurities. And Chuck, you need to know Sarah would never hurt you no matter how many times she threatens you. That's my Dr. Phil moment, take my advice or don't, it's up to you." He paused to let the couple take in what he had said and then continued.

"The bottom line is, Chuck is getting better at blocking out his emotions during missions. This is a very good thing for him. Because of the training you two are giving him," he paused, looking at Casey and Sarah, "he is relying on his training to guide him through his missions, not his emotions. When the mission completes he goes back to relying on his emotions. Sarah is just the opposite. She is very good at blocking out her emotions during a mission but is getting better at relying on her emotions after the mission completes. The bottom line is this, you two are finding a happy medium between being spies and being normal people. It gives you the best of both worlds. That's all I have now. If you will excuse me I have other things to do besides play Dr. Phil." And with that the Doc left.

"It may take a while but we are starting to get information from the Admirals computer. It will be a matter of time before I can be one hundred percent sure that he is one of the men I am looking for. You did a good job today so head home. I have the bird fueled and ready to go."

The team gathered their things and headed out, ready for the trip home and some well needed rest.


	10. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Rescue Mission**

**A/N: Same disclaimer as the other chapters. If you got this far do I really need to keep telling you the same things over and over? Nah I didn't think so. This chapter is almost 10k long so sit back and enjoy the ride. Thanks to SeaJay28 for the beta and BDaddyDl for some plot bunnies. Although with Bdad I'm not sure whether to thank him or whack him on the back of the head. Bdad will say, "hey I got this idea for here," and then it's 2k words later, so that's how this chapter grew to the monster it is. For those of you still around or just popping in for a bit this baby is loaded with action. Thanks again!**

Feb 2009

The last couple of weeks had been slow for the team with Chuck and Sarah attending some scheduled parties for the new business attempting to gain more information on the groups they were currently investigating. Since it had been so slow, Beckman cut down the briefings to once a week, the rest of the time was spent going over the daily reports and the continuation of Chuck's training. The results of his training could now clearly be seen. His shoulders were broader, chest and arms larger and more defined and much to Sarah's delight he sported the classic six pack abs. His martial arts and weapons skills had also developed faster than Sarah or Chuck had expected. They were now at the point that Chuck was Sarah's equal when they sparred. It wasn't unusual anymore for them to end the matches with them both ending up with bruises.

The dojo in the residence was on the same level as the one in the Nest. The difference was that both Gabriel and Sirella worked out at the nest and could provide the two agents with additional instruction on the forms of martial arts they were not familiar with. It wasn't unusual for them to use the Nest to train in several days a week. They had come to the nest early for a training session. Chuck and Sarah were in the middle of an intense sparing match when Chuck landed a vicious right hand to Sarah's temple knocking her out. Chuck, believing he seriously hurt Sarah panicked and called for the Doc. By the time he arrived Sarah was already conscious and sitting up although still groggy from the hit. The Doc examined her and pronounced her fit for duty but she should refrain from training for a couple days. While being examined the couple was discussing Chuck's ever increasing skills as a fighter when the Doc decided to explain a little more about the new intersect that Chuck had downloaded. While Chucks flashes were now pain free and hardly noticeable; one of the many new features was the ability of the intersect to link itself to Chuck's brain.

"What do you mean link to his brain Doc?" Sarah asked, now fully recovered from the punch, due to her concern for Chuck's health.

"When Chuck performs certain physical movements on a continuous basis, like the katas he has been using during his training, the intersect implants the moves into the memory portion of his brain. He no longer needs to think how to make a move before actually making the move; he knows how to perform it. He just needs the training to get his body to accept the moves." The Doc paused for a second like he was thinking about something before continuing on. "If it takes a normal person twenty times to master the front snap kick, Chuck will master it in five tries, because the intersect has uploaded the information to his brain."

"That would also explain why my weapons training are way ahead of schedule." Chuck supplied.

"Correct, but this only happens when the moves are done correctly. For example, when Chuck was learning the snap kick if he repeatedly performed the move incorrectly that information will not be uploaded to his brain because it is not in the intersect. Once he starts doing it correctly the information is then uploaded. It was designed like this to prevent bad habits from forming." The Doctor concluded his explanation.

"So if I wanted to teach Chuck how to dance the tango all I have to do is have him do the dance slowly and correctly and the intersect will upload it?"

"That's pretty much it. As long as it's in the data, it will be."

"Wow that's good to know. I think we've done enough hand to hand and since you knocked me out today, I think we can cut back on your training. Now we can start on the next phase, dancing!" Sarah said with a very large smile on her face and a tone of happiness in her voice.

"Sarah you know I have two left feet, I'll just fall all over myself!" whined Chuck.

"Not buying it mister, you heard what the Doc said, you'll learn in record time. And I really do like to dance. Besides it will make it easier on missions when we have to go the those balls and parties. Now let's go, Gene Kelly." Sarah practically dragged Chuck out of the room they had set up for training.

As they passed through the main work area they were surprised to see Gabriel sitting at one of the workstations going over some mission reports. Normally, they were the only ones in the nest at this time of day. They began to approach him to say good morning when his phone began to play "American Soldier" by Toby Keith. His head snapped up from his work and he made a couple of keystrokes on his laptop before answering his call. He put up his hand to stop anything they may have to say. They could only hear his side of the conversation.

"Not secure."

"Damn it!"

"Where, when, and how?"

"How much time do we have?"

Soon other members of his team started to arrive and began powering up their computer systems.

"Shit, that doesn't give me much time."

"Not without authorization. Contact them if you get a go." And he disconnected the call.

"Sarah and Chuck you need to leave, now, something you're not cleared for yet has come up. I'll contact you when it's ok for you to return." He turned and headed to his computer without saying another word.

The couple knew not to argue with Gabriel when he gave an order, just last month they witnessed one of his team members question him. It ended with the team member unconscious and sporting a huge black eye. The rest of the team just laughed quietly and mumbled "will he ever learn?" They headed out to do a quick three mile run before they headed home to meet Casey for breakfast. Not too long after they finished eating General Beckman called and told them they would have a video conference in five minutes. Ever since that fateful day when they had seen the General and her wife naked when they initiated a call on the new system, the General instituted a policy that a call would be made five minutes prior to any video briefing taking place.

Within minutes they were seated in the briefing room waiting on the General. When she finally came online she appeared paler and more reserved than she normally did. "Agents I was just contacted by the President tasking you for a mission. At approximately 0700 the top American nuclear physicist and his protection detail were attacked and captured. I am not in the possession of any further information regarding the attack. The President also informed me that you will be working with two members of an elite group of agents that only answer to him. He feels comfortable having you work with this agent because he feels you can be trusted because of your work with the intersect." If possible the General's expression turned even graver as she continued on, "Only the President has seen members of this group. If the mission goes south they are under orders to kill you and then take their own life. Please don't screw it up, I would hate to lose some of our top agents and worse people that I have started to consider friends. When the agents contact you your authentication code is…" just as she was about to pass on the information the door to the room opened and Gabriel and Sirella walked in "what are you two doing here? This is a classified briefing for my agents only." snarled the General.

"Which way to the Eifel Tower?" said Gabriel in a calm yet serious tone. This rendered the General and her team speechless for a couple of seconds. Finally, gathering her wits she answered just as calmly, "Take the first star on the right and head on till morning."

"Good morning General, Agents I see my boss has contacted you. That's who was on the phone earlier this morning, Agents Bartowski, Ma'am. I am sure the briefing you got this morning was not to your liking, sorry but it had to be done that way. With the bosses' position we have to keep certain information from him in case the shit hits the fan. I will give you the full briefing and if you or your agents feel the need to back out let me know and we will do it alone." The two new comers sat down in the empty seats around the table. "It's about time I filled you in on who I am. Your team has already been informed but at my request they have remained quiet about it. Need to know and all that." He finished with a small chuckle.

"Continue, Gabriel,you have certainly peaked my interest," replied the General.

"First, do a search of the Army data base for a Master Sergeant Mark Williams. Next check the CIA data base for an agent code named Thanatos." While he continued to speak she ran both names through the system. "Earlier today at 0700 one of my agent's code name Echo and Paul Silversmith a nuclear physicist were ambushed and captured in Arizona near Tucson. He was scheduled to give a speech on some new way to generate nuclear energy in a completely safe way with little or no toxic waste. It will dramatically cut down on need for foreign oil. We believe that a terrorist group that receives millions of dollars each year from oil production is responsible for this act. We have Intel that suggests they plan to sell the information to one of our enemies that has the ability to actually build the reactors. Our guess is they will force him to turn his plans into a weapon of mass destruction as well. I need to know now if you guys and agent Casey are willing to join up with members of my team for this one mission."

"I can't answer for Casey, but I can tell you that Chuck and I are in." Sarah answered for her team.

Excellent, we'll give you a couple of hours to get back to your house and pack your tactical gear. Your bird will be there waiting for you. We will take care of getting your jet ready so we can use it to get our mission site. We have wheels up an hour and a half after you reach your residence. You two better get moving." With that the two agents quickly left and headed off for home to pack. "General, take a few minutes to go over those files while my wife while I raid the kitchen for some tea and maybe a bagel." With that they got up and left the General to go over his files.

As Beckman began to read the files she thought, _DAMN_! Not only was she impressed by his actions as a soldier, but his record with the CIA was even better despite the lack of information in his files. She was shocked that he had been involved in five separate rescue missions for members of her team. She was getting ready to dig deeper into his files when the couple returned and retook their seats.

"There are several holes in those records as you can tell. I was eighteen when I was approached by the CIA because of a certain skill set I possess; I have street smarts to rival none. The place I once worked at once was involved in some illegal activities. Each time an undercover agent came by I was able to sniff them out. Each time they left they were physically destroyed and their careers were done. My first assignments were infiltration of drug gangs and minor burglary rings. I joined the Army as a cover to infiltrate a unit that was constantly coming up short on its mission critical equipment. You have probably heard of operation Reclaim Freight." Beckman gave a small nod to acknowledge that she did indeed know of it. Several officers she knew had gone down hard and nobody knew who turned them in. "I was running ops while in the Army, it seems it was easier for me to get time off, a phone call here, a TDA there and presto, off I went. My combat tours are all legitimate, although some of the action I engaged in were ops as well. In 2007 they formed a group of what they considered the best in their field, I was selected as the team lead and had to leave everyone I knew behind. There is a lot more to tell but that's me in a nut shell. You should receive a package later today via courier that contains all my redacted files. I am only sharing these with you because Sirella and I consider you and your wife our friends. We need to leave General, but I promise you this: I will bring your team back home safe and sound."

"One quick question if I may?" Getting a nod she continued, "I see that you are listed as missing and presumed dead, would you ever want to return to duty?"

"With all due respect Ma'am, that cannot ever happen. Only five people know I am alive, you four and the President. It has to stay that way forever. If all goes well I'll see you in a couple days, also don't believe anything you hear about the operation unless it comes my team. Good day" and he cut the transmission.

Exactly one hour and thirty minutes later they were airborne and headed to a small private air field outside of Tucson. Vehicles would be waiting for them when they arrived having been prearranged by his team while he was briefing Chuck's team. About an hour into the flight, Gabriel began his mission briefing.

"Once we land we are going in hot and heavy, we have about three hours after we land to extract the assets. We have an agent from our Los Angles base feeding us Intel. Once we land use only the call signs we give you. I'm Alpha. Sirella, you're Bravo, Chuck, your Kilo, Casey, you're Lima, Sarah, you're Mike." that got a chuckle out of Casey and a snort from Sarah. "Liz you're Charlie, Cam, you're Delta. You know your teams so let's do our jobs, people. The objective is to extract the two assets safely and kill or capture all the assailants. This next part is critical, no harm can come to any member of Chuck's team, is that understood?" a chorus of aye sir came from the group. Gabriel began pulling up an aerial view of the building where the assets were being held. It was situated in a large open area surrounded by small hills on three sides. The front faced south and had a long road leading up to it. Sirella noticed that Chuck was looking nervous so she walked up to him and tapped his shoulder "Chuck, you ok?"

"No I'm not, I knew this day would come but I'm not looking forward to it."

"You may find this hard to believe but no one here is either. These people will shoot you the second they see you. So you need to shoot first and ask questions later. If it's possible to not kill them just make sure their down for the count." Sirella said in a comforting tone.

Sarah was facing her own set of demons concerning Chuck; she had always hoped this day would never come. The day where he would truly join her world. Would he change from her Chuck into another Bryce or Cole? She knew he was a good shot and she hoped he could just knock them out of commission. She snapped out of her thoughts as Gabriel once again took over.

"Sirella and I will be on the hills on the east and west. Liz and Cam, your team will approach from the south. Casey, your team will approach from the north. At seventeen hundred we go. The guards will be at the end of the shift so they should not be as alert as they should be. An Army unit will fly several Black Hawks over the area for five minutes. Sirella and I will take out the perimeter guards and the ones on the roof. When I say go, Liz and Cam, roll in hot then split into three small groups, one on each corner and one straight in. Draw as much fire as you can, we need to give Chuck's team time to get in the door. The assets are located in the north end of the building. Chuck's team will then attempt to locate and free the assets. Chuck, as soon as you have breached the door let us know. When we get confirmation that Chuck is in; the other teams will enter the south end of the building. Our Intel suggests there may be as many as thirty terrorists in the building and surrounding area. We're going in with the M-4 as our primary weapon, keep your side arm as back up. We will use an open communication system so let us know your status in short simple messages like Kilo in or Tango down. Sam will be in the Van monitoring the comms and directing traffic if we need it. We'll be touching down within the hour so let's get our mission gear on."

When Sarah finished changing, she went and sat by Chuck who was currently looking as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. She was definitely getting worried about him now and she instinctively knew he needed to talk.

"Babe you look like shit, talk to me." said Sarah as she placed her arm around him trying to offer him comfort and strength. "You've been on missions before this is just another one."

"Yeah right, Sarah this is NOT like anything I have ever done before. Sure we have been shot at, nearly blown up, twice, and I've had to jump off a building. Those things I just chalked up to bad luck, But this is way over my head." He sighed before continuing "this is a combat mission no matter how you slice or dice it. The other teams are supposed to draw fire just so we can get in. then what; we go running around in the dark?"

"Don't you think I'm a little scared as well? In all my time I have never been engaged in a mission like this before either. You know what I've done and I was never as scared as I am now. Do you want to know why? Before, there was nothing for me to lose, now that I have you I am terrified I may lose you. That if I screw up and fail to do my job and protect you; you could die. Or I could die and never get to enjoy all the fun times we have waiting for us each and every day from now on." Sarah finished up. Casey, seeing his partners having a discussion sat down next to them and began to speak.

"Chuck, listen to me, I remember my first firefight, I was nervous as hell when we started our assault on the target, but once the bullets started flying, there was no time to be nervous or scared. Trust your training. I've seen you sparing with Sarah and on the range. I may give you crap all the time but you're good, real good. Just let your training get you through this. We have one big advantage they don't. Gabriel, you've seen his record; both of them. I have to believe the plan is sound, plus we have our body armor. Just don't take a head shot and you'll be fine."

Now it was Chuck's turn again, "Thanks Casey, Sarah, you don't need to protect me anymore, but I know you too well. I never had to protect you but I tried anyway; so what do you say we watch each other's backs and Casey's too and we all come out alive?"

"Sounds like a plan" and she gave him a quick kiss to seal the deal, and the trio settled down for the remainder of the flight.

When they landed, they picked up the vehicles that were left for them and headed to the engagement area. Alpha and Bravo had taken up positions on the hills, Charlie and Delta teams were sitting a half mile down the road and Kilo team was on the north side. They completed their comms check and waited for the Black Hawks to arrive. They started giving sit reps as soon as they were in position. There were two men on the roof, three on the west side, two on the east and three on the south side. At exactly seventeen hundred the Black Hawks started their fly over. Almost simultaneously the two guards fell dead on the roof courtesy of Alpha and Bravo. Bravo then quickly dispatched the two guards on her side of the building calling in, "east side clear." Alpha was not to be out done, he quickly dropped two of the three targets but the third one seeing his buddies heads explode ran towards the front of the building. Alpha called in "two tangos down, west side clear one tango headed south. Go, Go, Go!" The teams of Charlie and Delta flew down the stretch of road they were on and got into position. While they were trying to get set up the doors to the front of the building opened and more enemy combatants entered the fray. "All teams they are using the spray and pray method" Delta put out over the comm. link.

"Huh?" Chuck mumbled in response.

"It means they spray a lot of rounds down range and pray they hit something," answered Casey.

Conversely, the Charlie and Delta teams were well trained and were using the one shot one kill mentality.

As the battle began on the south side, Kilo's team made their move. With Sarah and Casey taking up defensive positions around Chuck, he quickly got past the security locks and crashed through the door calling in "Kilo team in," with his M-4 raised to the ready position he did a quick scan down the hall and turned left forcing the door against the wall to insure no enemy was behind it. Casey entered right on Chucks butt turning right to clear his hall. He was not as lucky as Chuck was. When he finished his sweep a terrorist came out of one of the rooms and raised his weapon to fire but Casey already had his weapon up and ready to go. Two shots later the enemy fell dead. Sarah was hot on Casey's heels as he entered the building.

"Mike, no doors in Kilo's hall. Advance down your hall, I'll cover you."

"Roger," Sarah and Casey quickly moved down the hall to check out the room the assailant had come out of. Quickly entering the room in the same fashion as they did the building; they found the room empty.

"Room clear heading back to you, Kilo"

Before Chuck could get out his reply a man toting an AK entered the hall from one of the side rooms. Chuck suffered a brief moment of panic then calmness settled in. He didn't know if it was the intersect kicking in or Casey's words to trust his training. As if he was born to it Chuck aimed and fired two rounds. The first round struck the man dead center of his chest the second slightly higher. Both caused his clothes to turn red where the rounds struck him before he collapsed to his knees then on to his side, lifeless. "Tango down in hall" Sarah had witnessed this and was momentarily stunned watching Chuck shoot someone for the first time. Casey just called in "nice shot, Kilo" he gave Chuck a small shove towards the next room they had to clear.

They encountered some minor resistance along the way but not the full-out squads they had prepared for. Chuck, for the most part, took the lead like he was born to it. When they entered the second room they found Chuck turned left to get out of the 'funnel of death' and a shot was fired at Chuck from an agent that was standing there laying in wait. The round glanced off Chuck's leg but the body armor suit he was wearing did its job. Chuck wasted no time in returning fire at the agent taking him out. Casey had followed Chuck in and turned to the right to clear his side of the room. The man Casey encountered was not a trained agent and was unnerved by what was going on and panicked. He would have had a clear shot but in his haste to take aim on his intended target he pulled back on the trigger and sent his rounds everywhere but at his target. Casey, who was unfazed, took down the agent. Sarah remained in the hall to pull rear security. As they advanced through the building Casey was mentally keeping track of the kills as they went along. Chuck was at five, he was at four and Sarah had two.

On the south side of the building the fighting was fierce for several minutes but as more and more of the enemy fell the resistance got to the point where Charlie and Delta teams could advance on the target "Charlie and Delta entering building."

Gabriel still in his saw a man attempting to escape out a window, that had been painted over in black, and promptly took him out. Once the body fell out of the way he had a clear view of most of the room. "Kilo, assets are in the fifth door on your right. Extract through the window."

"Roger" the trio moved down the hall and entered the room as they had all the previous times. There were their assets, tied to a pair of chairs with burlap bags covering their heads. One was a male the other a female. Sarah called in "assets located ready to extract" the female hearing the muffled female voice thought it was one of her team mates called out "about time you got here bravo, I'm gonna kick your husband's ass when I get a hold of him!" The trio froze at the voice that came from under the bag.

_No friggin way_

_You've got to be kidding me_

_Oh God_

"Will you get this bag off my head and get me out of here? It's hot in here." The now very pissed off voice pleaded. Sarah got to work removing the bag and as it cleared Echo's eyes, Echo grasped in surprise. "What are you doing here…?" knowing protocol of here team she waited for Sarah to fill in the name.

"Mike." That got a laugh out of Echo. "Why does every one keep doing that?" Sarah huffed. Casey had just about finished with his asset when two men haphazardly attempted to enter the room. Chuck who had taken up a defensive position guarding the door didn't even hesitate blowing both men away. Echo looked shocked at what Chuck had just done, she turned to Sarah with a blank look on her face and tried to speak but all that came out was a "huh?" Sarah just gave a shrug of her shoulders and said, "You get used to it. Alpha, Kilo team exiting window hold your fire." Securing the door the best they could, they exited the building and made their way to the vehicle they left parked behind the building. By now, most of the weapons fire had stopped. Alpha called for his team to break contact and return to the arranged meeting area. The FBI had teams on the way to round up any stray combatants and mop up the area. A DNI team was also in route to remove any computer systems so they could be analyzed.

The mission complete, they began their return to the assembly area the team used at the beginning. Not much was said during the ride back, partly because they were coming down from their mission high and partly because Mr. Silversmith was with them. Several times during the ride back Sarah noticed Chuck was staring blankly out the window not really looking at anything and not talking. He didn't even attempt to touch her. Ever since they had gotten married it seemed like anytime they were together they shared a small touch here or a caress there, nothing overtly sexual, a touch that said I'm here. She knew she had to get Chuck to start talking about what he had just seen and done or it would begin eating him alive from the inside out. Once they arrived Sarah quickly whispered her plan to Casey and got Chuck off to the side.

"How are you holding up Babe? I just want you to know that if you want to talk about what happened today, I'm here for you." Not wasting any time she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. She could feel his body shake as small sobs claimed him. Several minutes passed before she felt him begin to relax into her embrace. He shifted slightly and brought his lips to hers for a quick kiss.

"Pretty good actually, all things considered," he paused for a second, trying to get his thoughts in order "it's weird for me you know. I always told myself that I could never kill anyone, ever. When the first guy I shot stepped into the hall and I saw his weapon come up, I was scared you know. I had all these jumbled thoughts running through my head. I believed I was going to die and leave you alone, how much it would hurt you and Ellie both. I froze for a second, it might not even have been that long, but it seemed like forever. Then I heard your voice telling me that I had your back, Sirella telling me to shoot first and ask question later, the weirdest one was Casey telling me I was actually good and that he had faith in me." He paused again letting out a soft sigh.

"Don't get me wrong honey but I think hearing what Casey said pushed me forward. You tell me all the time how well I am doing, and that means the world to me, it really does. But with Casey, he rarely gives me any compliments or comments on how far I've come along. What he said meant a great deal to me. All of the sudden my fear and panic were gone and I was calm, and to be honest, I don't think the intersect even played a part in what I did today. When I was faced with the, 'him or me' question, there was no longer any doubt in my mind about what I had to do. I didn't have to think about what to do, I just did it like I had practiced. My first reaction was relief that I got him first, and then remorse for what I had done. Does that mean I'm a bad person? Shouldn't I feel worse for killing them?"

"That's one question I can't answer for you. I was messed up for a while after my first kill, but the situation was different. I would be more worried if you weren't relieved that you weren't the one the ground. How bad you feel about killing them, I think the gravity of the mission puts them into perspective for you, made you realize how truly evil these people are. You knew we had to stop these people now, before they had a chance to sell the information to one of those radical countries that would use it to kill millions. I think your rational side finally caught up with the emotional side and made sense out of everything that you have been training for."

"Thanks for talking to me like this, like a partner not like my wife. I think I'm good for now but be ready to listen to me again. I have a feeling that when I finally wind down enough it may hit me harder than it is now. We should be getting back." Keeping his arm around his wife they made their way to the briefing area. While they were away talking a semi had pulled up and people were busy setting up the area. They made their way to a canopy that had been set up with food and drinks. Standing around the table were Gabriel, Sirella and Casey, who was smoking his post mission cigar. When they were almost to the table a voice from behind startled them.

"Hello Mike" Echo said with her voice full of laughter. The couple turned to face the voice they had heard many times before. "How the heck did you get stuck with Mike?"

"Carina" answered Sarah as she engulfed her friend in a hug. "You have no idea how shocked I was to see it was you under that bag."

"Imagine how I felt when I saw you three there. I figured it would be my team that would be coming to extract us. Chuck, nice to see you again" Carina said as she extended her hand toward Chuck. He takes it in a firm grip. The first thing he noticed about Carina was her usual flirty tone was gone replaced with a warm friendly one. Second she had a calmer look in her eyes like she was finally at piece with herself.

"You too, Carina, how have you been?"

"Very good thanks for asking, you've come a long way from the last time we met. From what I hear you did a good job in there today." She then saw the third member of Sarah's team making his way over to them "Casey good to see you again."

"Good to see you to Carina. We need to head in now, Gabriel is ready for the debriefing" Casey said as he continued towards the trailer.

Once the main players were assembled in the trailer, Gabriel contacted the General. As soon she came on she asked for a status report.

"General we were able to extract Dr. Silversmith and agent Echo, suffering only minor injuries. The FBI has the few surviving terrorists in custody and members of the DNI have the computers. We killed thirty three of the terrorist group, my team took out twenty and your team accounted for the remaining thirteen."

"Gabriel if I may interrupt for a moment, what is Agent Miller doing there?"

"She is one of mine, code name Echo. I was not up front with this information because of the personal relationship between your team and Echo. Your team was going to be under enough pressure on this mission as it was. This is our first time working together as a single team and I treated them like members of my team. We just deal with the mission parameters not the who of it. All my team knew was we had two people to extract and how much time we had to get it done. So your team had more information than mine." Receiving a nod of acceptance from the General he proceeded on

"I would like to give you my assessment of your teams' performance during today's operation. I initially had my reservations about working with your team on this style of mission. One of your agents is raw, one is set in his ways and the other has never been on this type of mission. Because my resources are stretched thin I needed to include your team. But I digress, each member of my team is fitted with a small video camera so we can monitor their movements during the ops and then review it and see where they can improve. Your team surpassed all my expectations. When they were given the go signal they acted immediately and effectively. They infiltrated the building expertly. When they were clearing the rooms they did it like it was second nature to them taking out the enemy with precise and controlled weapons fire. From a tactical perspective it was a beautiful thing to watch."

_Casey knew the operation went well but did not think it went that well. He admitted to himself that Chuck performed well above expectations, even taking out the seven of the terrorists. His team was getting praise from a man, who based on his military record, definitely knew what a successful operation was. His team….he mulled it over for a minute. Was it his team? Not really. At the same time it wasn't Chuck's or Sarah's team either. They each brought something different to the team that enabled it to make it a complete team effort._

Sarah was pleased as well with the review her team was receiving, and then she thought, _it's not really my team, is it. We don't really have a leader, we just are._

"There was absolutely no loss of cohesion when the positions were switched. Each member knew what they had to do and did it. The person I was most impressed by was Chuck, even when he was surprised by the enemy he didn't panic just aimed and fired effectively eliminating the enemy. Each of your agents has a weakness when they operate alone, but when they operate as a team they are almost as good as one of mine. The entire operation from start to finish took just over twenty minutes. I have the final tally on the number of hostiles each member of your team took down. Agent Bartowski had two, Agent Casey had four, and the other Agent Bartowski had seven. Your team did well and it was an honor working on this mission with them. I will send the mission tapes to you so you can evaluate their performance yourself. We'll leave you to your team, we're going get some of the food that was brought in." with that he rose and his team followed him out.

While the General had a smile on her face that would rival any young child on Christmas morning, Carina just looked stunned, she glanced over at Sarah who mouthed "later" to her as she was leaving. Beckman however, could not contain her good mood anymore. "Well done team, well done!" she said with unsuppressed glee. "It's been a long time since any of my Agents got such a great review. And it was over in twenty minutes. Amazing simply amazing. I believe we can safely say you are now the best that I have to offer. Chuck if you need to talk to someone after today just let me know and I'll arrange a Doc for you. The first kills are the hardest to deal with you having to do it twice today I know it must be hard on you."

"Actually General, Chuck had the high number for our team. He was as good as anyone I have worked with before. He handled himself like a true professional today" you could tell by Casey's voice he was proud of the team he was a part of but he was even more proud of Chuck. Sarah was also proud of how Chuck had handled himself today especially being able to handle the fact he had to kill several people.

"Very good team, take a couple days off when you get back. Beckman out."

"Sarah let's get something to eat I'm kinda hungry and I'm sure you want to catch up with Carina."

"Sure babe lets go, Casey you coming?"

"Yep, let's get out of here; we can see when we are going to hit the road. It's been fun but I want to get back it's been a long day."

They found themselves around the table laden with food and drinks and they filled themselves a plate of ribs and various salads and they each grabbed a drink. Casey went to find Gabriel to talk about old war stories while Sarah and Chuck found Carina and sat down at the table opposite of her.

"I heard you finally married Chuck? I'm really happy for you. How long have been you two been married? And since your both here together I guess Beckman is on board with it?" Carina asked with genuine curiosity.

"Thanks Carina, we got married about four months ago and believe me I have never been happier. Beckman called us in for a briefing one day and told Casey and I we were going to be reassigned. Scared the shit out of me. After that I don't remember much until she asked me if I loved Chuck, and I said yes. On the first of November we went to Vegas and got married. And trust me it's been great."

"Now for the million dollar question, what are you guys doing here? We usually take care of ourselves. This is the first time since I've been on the team that we had any outside help. So are you on our team now?"

"No, we were called yesterday by the President and he tasked us to help get you and Silversmith out. We work closely with them but we do our own missions. They mostly give us operational support and tactical advice if we ask for it. They have never sent anyone along with us. What about you, how did you get on Gabriel's team?"

"It was right after I worked with you on that diamond mission. I was assigned to Miami to infiltrate a drug operation. I was about three months into the mission when the shit hit the fan. A friend and I were hanging out with some locals in a bar when one of the dudes I was working with comes in with another guy. They start talking about business and the new guy says he is part of a secret government agency called Fulcrum and they want him to run drugs so they can locate the main suppliers. He offers them protection if they start working for them. I call my handler in the DEA and report the information and that he needs to report it to the CIA. About two weeks later my friend and I are eating at the same bar it was unusually crowded and almost none of the regulars were there. Then this smoking hot guy sitting across the way has a drink sent to my table. We acknowledge each other then BAM" slapping her hands on the table making a loud bang in the process. It startles Chuck and he almost chokes on the ear of corn he had been happily munching on. Sarah, who was in the middle of a big swallow of soda, gasps which causes her to inhale some of it sending her into a coughing fit. Carina waits a few minutes allowing the couple to get their coughing fits under control.

"Ooh you guys are too funny, anyway about fifteen guys come in with the Fulcrum Agent who starts screaming 'it's time to have some fun with the DEA whore pointing at me. I figured my time was up, I was going to be raped repeatedly then killed. The Fulcrum traitor gets to within three feet of me and does a face plant with a knife sticking out of his head. I notice the good looking dude and this chick with long black hair are fighting side by side. I'd never seen anything like it in all my years on the job. They literally sliced and diced their way through the bar to get to me. It took them less than ten minutes to clear out the bar. When it was over there were ten dead Fulcrum agents and eighteen members of the drug gang I was after lying dead on the floor. They never fired a shot, it was all done with knives. When they escorted me out to their car he said, and I'll never forget it, 'Hello Agent Miller of the DEA I'd like to talk to you.' And here I am."

_Maybe one day I can actually tell them that I was supposed to die that day. And she remembers: we had just left the bar and were headed to his car when he spoke up. "Agent Miller I have a proposition for you. One you may not like. My name is Mark Williams this is my wife Sirella. We have been keeping an eye on an old friend of yours Sarah Walker and the love of her life Chuck Bartowski." I wanted to object that they weren't in love but he stopped me with his raised hand. "She may not have admitted it yet but she will, all the signs are there. They will be tasked by me in the near future to help us take down a group of aliens known as the Gallians. Why is not important right now it will be explained to you in full at a later date if you decide to help us. We are here to assist them. My team and I are not from this time we are from your future. You were supposed to die in there today Agent Miller make no mistake about it. Come work for us and when we leave you will come back with us. If you decide to stay I will end your life here as it was supposed to be. The choice is yours." I looked into his eyes and saw nothing, no emotions, just a cold blank stare that caused me to shiver. I made the choice to help and in the process met the person of my dreams._

"Wow Sarah, sounds similar to how we met him. Carina would you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"No problem Chuck, what do you want to know?"

"Don't get me wrong or anything but you seem different than the last time I met you. It's been almost an hour and you haven't even made a pass at me. Not that I want you to, Sarah is the only one for me but it is out of character for you."

"Wow that's an easy one. I spent most of time as an Agent using my _assets_ to get the job done. Alpha took me aside later that night and asked me a series of questions then made a speech that changed my life. He asked me what was the difference between a fifty dollar an hour street hooker and a one thousand dollar and hour call girl. The answer he gave me was the amount of money they make. There were other things as well but the bottom line was he said they sell themselves for money. Next he asked what the difference was between them and I was, he said less money more danger. Bottom line was I was no different than them, sure I stopped a couple thousand weapons or kilos of dope but in the end I was still a whore. Now I get to do all that but I don't have to sell my ass anymore. I still need to flirt to get close to them, but now I can just walk away if I want, no questions asked."

During Carina's talk Sarah noticed so to many similarities to her own career all the marks she slept with because she was told to. After all, her missions they may have put something on hold for a while, but did it stop? Not likely. Hell, U.S. even killed some of the top leaders in the Taliban and they were still there and in full attack mode. Funny thing about the completed missions, nobody ever checks back after it's over, to see if the hard work stopped it or just put it on hold. Guess I'll never know.

"Then I started doing missions and training with them and my life began to change, these people actually appreciate me for my skills, not my just body. I won't lie their training is tough, but you know what? When you get done you regain your self worth, not because you prove to them you can do it, but you prove to yourself you can do it. That was it for me, I never looked back. I'm still not up to their standards, you know best of the best and all that, but I'm better than eighty percent of the agents in the CIA or NSA right now and only getting better."

Chuck and Sarah could see the pride in her eyes, from what she had personally accomplished.

"Best of all I've been in a steady relationship for over a year!" this was said with a large smile.

"No shit!" exclaimed Sarah "from the both of us, congratulations! That's so great, but I'm a little jealous, you got more time with your man than I got with mine!"

While they were listening to Carina, Casey and Gabriel had snuck up behind them and listened to the end of the story. Casey could also see how much Carina had changed. "Carina, Sam's pissed you got your ass caught and says you better be on the bird with us when we leave later today. So you better give Sam a call soon, you're already in the dog house, no need to make it worse!" this was said with a laugh and shake of his head.

"Henpecked much Carina?" asked Chuck.

"You have no idea! But I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Speaking of leaving when do we need to leave to catch our flight?" Inquired Casey

"We're going to head out now, grab your stuff and let's go. With any luck we should be back home by ten. Carina, Sirella has already gone to your hotel room and retrieved your bag. She's going to meet us at the plane. We load in ten." With that Gabriel turned and left.

"Come on Hon let's get going, I just need to relax, it's been a long and trying day for me" stated Chuck.

"Yeah babe let's go. I can use some sleep as well." Sarah grabbed Chuck around the waist and started walking with him to the car, followed closely by Carina. Casey elected to go with Gabriel in his car. During the ride over Carina pulled out her phone and made her call, "Hey babe, Gabriel told me to call."

"Yes Sam, I'm fine." she shook her head, "Really Sam, I'm fine, not a scratch on me I swear" rolls her eyes.

"Meet me at the plane?" she furrowed her brow, and smiled.

"Sweet, love you too. See you in a couple of hours."

Several hours later the plane landed and pulled into its parking space on the tarmac near the small private passenger terminal. Once the stairway was pushed into place the door opened and the team members began exiting the plane. Gabriel and Sirella, went first followed by Chuck, Sarah, Casey and finally Carina. They were about half way to the terminal when a short, petite blonde came flying out the doors heading towards the group at a dead run. Sirella pulled Gabriel out of the way and shouted "get out of the way!" to the rest of the team. Chuck barely managed to get his wife out of the way before the blonde ball of fury ran past them. Casey wasn't so lucky, he was a tad slow in moving out of the way and took a forearm to the chest knocking him on his ass, Chuck and Sarah cringed and said "ouch" Carina stood her ground and opened her arms knowing exactly what was about to happen. When the blonde was about three feet away she leapt at Carina, arms held open and legs spread out, slightly resembling a long jumper. At the moment of impact her arms and legs wrapped around Carina, and she started peppering her face with kisses. It finally ended in a scorching kiss.

"I give her a nine point five for that one, she loses points because she forgot to lock her ankles" Sirella laughed out.

"I disagree, nine point seven, she had better height than the last couple of times" Gabriel adding to the score "well you two, what do you give her?"

To say that they were speechless would be an understatement. Sarah had known Carina a long time, and as far as she knew they were both heterosexuals in good standing. It had been their one rule they abided by on missions, no women. Chuck was equally astounded, he was watching _Carina the man eater_ be devoured by a petite woman, and was returning the kisses with gusto. Casey he was another story, he was still trying to figure who the middle linebacker was that knocked him on his ass. As his head cleared and he struggled to get to his feet, he saw Carina and the blonde in a passionate embrace. He turned quickly to Gabriel and asked the question everyone on his team wanted to know "besides the five of us do you have any straight couples on your teams?"

"Yeah we do, they just happen to be on missions right now. I'm an equal opportunity employer and before you ask, most of the people that work with me are in long term monogamous relationships. Carina, Samantha, break it up and save it for later. You should introduce your girlfriend to your friends."

"Casey, Sarah, Chuck this little fireball is Samantha Wildman, my girlfriend." This caused Sam to roll her eyes "Sam these are friends of mine from when I worked for the DEA. Chuck and Sarah are married and Casey works with them. They were part of the team sent to get me out. In fact they are the ones who did get me out. Now that I am back we need to get together and catch up."

"Nice to meet you, thanks for getting my girl back. Now you'll have to excuse us, I have a bottle of wine and some finger foods" this was said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "sitting next to our hot tub. She's been gone for over three months and I need to get me some lovin." Arms wrapped around each other, they left the terminal and headed to Sam's waiting car.

The other members of Gabriel's team followed right behind them. Team Bartowski headed over to where their Bell 430 was waiting for them and began the short trip to their residence. During the flight the team began to discuss the mission they had just completed.

Casey was the first to speak "I know we already briefed the General on the mission but I can see why Gabriel is the best. Even though I read his service jacket it didn't compare to what happened today. His plan actually went right and the timing of everything was spot on. I would love to see the video of how it all went down on the outside while we got Carina and Silversmith out."

"I was thinking the same thing. The intel we got about the inside of the building was right on the money and we had no surprises. Which sorry to say, we can't get from our own people most of the time. That was my first extraction where we conducted actual battle field tactics. Most of mine were just snatch and grabs off the street or from a room. It was different experience for me. Casey, I know you have heard this before about an Officer or NCO that you would follow into hell and back because you know he will get you out alive. I think we just worked for him. He instills a confidence in people. Talking to him before the mission helped." Sarah added her thoughts to what Casey had just said.

"Sirella did it for me. I was a mess at one point but she took me aside and explained the facts of life to me. That it was a kill or be killed mission. But what got me to focus was when I heard Casey say rely on you training. After that everything kind of flowed. I think I may have some help from the intersect on the room clearing. But with the flashes I get now it's hard to tell."

"Speaking of room clearing what the hell were you doing going first?" Sarah asked her husband with just a hint of concern in her voice.

"You know I have no idea. It just seemed right for some reason. It was like everything fell into place."

"Chuck I may not say it enough but you've come a long way. Tonight you were very professional and did a great job. I think Beckman had a cow when she heard you had the most agents taken out." Casey did not want to use kill because it was still close to Chuck's first kills. Ever since he was asked to attend the wedding he began to think of Chuck more like a brother instead of a bother, like he used to. He was pleasantly surprised by the advancements Chuck was making and tonight was no exception. The Bell 430 finally landed and the trio got in the golf car and headed to the residence to get some much needed rest.


	11. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Italy Mission**

**A/N: Same disclaimers as every other chapter so you know the drill. This chapter is un betad but ill work on getting it fixed.**

It had been a couple of weeks since they had rescued Carina and the couple was now on a mission in Italy. Some of their hard work had finally paid off. One of the leads from Wells computer had paid off in a roundabout way. They found most of the contributors to the CFCB Charity to be honest businessmen. One of the businessmen however had a brother that had been arrested on possession of illegal weapons. Those weapons just happened to be Soviet made AK-47's. Since it had been another slow period for them, if you discount the times they had to attend the parties and business dinners they were required to attend to gather information on who may be involved with the funding of the Trans World Shipping, the group they were ultimately trying to get in to. The General gave them the go ahead to track any leads they thought would enable them to get information on Fulcrum. They tracked those weapons to a gang operating in New York. The gang in turn got those weapons from a man that was associated with a know arms dealer in Italy. They contacted Interpol and MI-6 for any information they may have on the arms dealer. They got a file that had several photos of suspected associates and Chuck flashed on a couple as being Fulcrum. When Beckman got that bit of information she had them pack up and head to Naples Italy.

For this mission Sarah had gone with light brown hair and brown contacts. Chuck had trimmed his hair and dyed his hair a dark black. He added green contacts to complete his look. Gone were the high end designer dresses and suits. Instead their wardrobe now consisted of jeans and dress slacks for Chuck while Sarah went with Capri's, jeans and normal dresses and skirts. They now were as close to the way they used to dressing before their current long term mission began.

Sarah and Chuck had just finished a nice meal at Antica Osteria Pisano and were deciding what else to do or see. They had been here for over three weeks now with very little to show for it. They had been unable to track down either of the two men Chuck had flashed on. They had begun to drop hints around the City that they were interested in acquiring some hard to find _historic_ weapons. They began to get some leads on where to purchase some small caliber hand guns with the promise of more to come if they needed them. They had a meeting set up for the next day with Antonio their contacts boss.

Their meal finished they began to take their evening walk. The walk had become somewhat of a ritual back at the residence. At first they did it to learn what the grounds looked like but it morphed into a way to just clear their heads after a long day of doing reports or checking the files Beckman had sent them. Now they just do it for fun. On the way back to the small house the CIA had provided them with Sarah felt a niggling on the back of neck.

"Chuck does something seem off to you?"

"Not really why?"

"I can't really explain it. It's like my spy senses are tingling. I get the feeling were either being followed or watched."

"I hate to break it to you but every time we go out you ARE being watched."

"Not like that you big nerd like in somebody is keeping tabs on us."

"You have more experience than me at this stuff so I think we should follow your instincts."

"I'd like to call Beckman when we get in and have a backup team in place for tomorrows meet. There's no way I want to get surprised tomorrow by Antonio and his men without back up."

"I agree with you on that point. Speaking of back up teams you know what I miss about us working here?"

"Why don't you tell me and we'll both know."

"Smart ass, it's not having anyone from Gabriel's team to call in as our back up" Chuck completes his statement while opening the door and entering their place.

"Isn't that the truth. We've been working with them for just over six months and so far everything has gone according to plan. I know if the feces hit the rotary oscillating device and his team would have us out in a heartbeat. I never felt that way when I was working for just the CIA. Back then it was like if you get caught oh well." As she finishes her mind begins to drift _you know the real reason now though don't you? Pimp Daddy Graham and I sold your ass Larkin could have cared less if you got out. They would have just gotten another pretty face to spread her legs._

A tap on her elbow brings her back and she continues "Sorry I got caught up in a moment of reflection. Beckman said this mission we were on would require a lot of travel and she was right. By the way have you talked to Ellie lately?"

"I talked to her the other day while you were at your appointment. The wedding plans are coming along nicely but she did ask for a favor."

"What does she need?"

"She wants us to send our plane to pick up her bridal party the week before the wedding and bring them to our place. Then take them on an aerial tour of Philadelphia and maybe New York. Then we can all fly back on our plane for the wedding. I told her I would have to ask you."

"I don't see why not. We can treat it as one long bachelorette party."

"How did the appointment go?"

"It was good. I never thought I would need help but after talking to Carina and hearing her say how much it helped her I figured I should give it a try. We both did a lot of the same things."

"Gabriel almost bit my head off when I said to him I could handle it one my own. Then he explained how he got help after his first kills and my decision was made. If he got help I'd be a damn fool if I didn't"

"He really cares about his people. It's no wonder they are so loyal to him."

"I thought just crossed my mind. It's been a while since I showed my wife exactly how much I love her." He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom where he showed her, several times.

Chris and Seanna Wilson AKA the Bartowski's arrived at the meeting location as scheduled. They chose the Galleria Umberto I possibly the largest glass roofed arcade in the world for the meeting. They were seated at a table outside one of the small restaurants waiting for Antonio to arrive. When Antonio did arrive they were not surprised he wasn't alone. What surprised them was who he was with Bryce Larkin.

"Antonio a pleasure to see you again" asked Seanna "and who might this man be?"_ you have got to be fucking kidding me. I can't wait to hear what Beckman says about this._

"Allow me to introduce to you my business partner Bruce Lawson. Bruce this is Seanna and her husband Chris" answered Antonio.

"Nice to meet you Bruce now that we have all the players here can we get down to business" Chuck says barely concealing his shock. _Ok this has to be some kind of cosmic injustice. I killed some bad dudes. Lots of people have so why do I have to go through this now. Couldn't this have waited till I died?_

"Antonio we would like to acquire some assault weapons for some friends of ours. Say around 200. With a promise for more if you can deliver. If you can provide them my friends will pay well." Chuck began the negotiation.

"For such a small quantity seventy five percent over retail if that's agreeable to your friends" Bruce added.

"That might be doable if you can provide what we need now and on our next order we pay you fifty percent. Of course it will be for a larger quantity." Sarah smoothly entered back into the negotiation.

"The lady drives a hard bargain. But we agree on the price. We can have your merchandise in a week. We will contact you when delivery can be made" Antonio said concluding the negotiations. The four business persons shook hands to seal the deal.

Chuck and Sarah left as soon as their deal had been agreed upon and headed straight to their house to contact Beckman. Once inside the booted up the laptop that Gabriel had given them. With the difference in time General would be at her office so they let the five minute rule slide.

"Beckman secure."

"Bartowski's pissed" snapped Sarah "No disrespect General but what is Bryce Larkin doing here working with our mark Antonio?"

"Whoa back up the bus Sarah!" Beckman exclaimed

"What my dear wife is trying to say is during our meeting with Antonio. His business partner turned out to be Bryce, but his cover name is Bruce Lawson. He is acting as Antonio's partner. We need to know if he is trying to get Antonio as well or if there is another reason for him to be here."

"I never sent him on any missions in Italy. Because I spend so much of my time working with your team and Gabriel's I have let the CIA handle most of their agents. I have not had eyes on Larkin's missions in almost six months. Let me call my liaison at the CIA and have them send over Bryce's latest mission reports. I will contact you when I have any more information" and Beckman signed off.

"That was a shock seeing him here. I hope Beckman has some good answers for us" said Chuck.

"He had better hope that this does not affect our other mission because if he does it will not be pretty" conceded Sarah.

"How do you feel about this Sarah? Something does not make sense here. Do you think that maybe he went rogue for real this time?"

"That I can't answer plus I have no idea what he is doing here either."

Just then the screen came to life and Beckman was back "I have some very bad news for you two. It seems like Agent Larkin is supposed to be in Columbia working with a DEA Agent trying to bring down a drug cartel."

"Ma'am we know that's not true." Chuck interrupted the General.

The General just rolled her eyes and continued on "Chuck if you would allow me to finish before you interrupt again I may answer some of your questions. It gets worse Agents, according to the reports the CIA has received from Agent Larkin they all state that he is currently working undercover with DEA Agent Carina Hansen. We have personally seen Agent Hansen several times during the last month we know she is working for Gabriel. I have asked for his help and he should be joining us in a minute."

Almost as soon as the General finishes her statement the screen splits in half and Gabriel appears. "Good evening Agents Bartowski Diane has informed me that you have a situation that I can help with. After speaking with Diane I had my techs do some checking in the DEA data base. What I found disturbed me. Carina was listed as missing and presumed dead on the same day I recruited her. Six months later her status was changed from missing to inactive status due to injuries. The name of the Agent who reported her alive was CIA Agent Bryce Larkin" as was his habit Gabriel paused to allow the information to sink in.

"Agent Larkin contacted the Head of the DEA and requested a Temporary Duty Assignment (TDA) and partnership with Agent Hansen. His ruse was that they were both after the same cartel. His handler in the CIA approved and reported him TDA. That was about six months ago. General with your permission I would like to send in a team to assist yours in light of this new information. Your teams are good General don't doubt that. You've seen my teams in action and they are better. Agents Bartowski and Agent Casey are every bit as good as mine. I could not in good conscience allow them to be protected by anyone not as equally skilled."

This revelation left the three others in the briefing doing the fish out of water routine. "I have not seen it fit to interfere with the missions Team Bartowski has run. Granted we may run nonintrusive observation on your team but we let them do everything. When Larkin involved one of MY team members in his plan it became my business. We protect our own to include Team Bartowski." Gabriel paused for a second to prepare them for what was coming next.

Sarah and Chuck watched Gabriel's eyes change to the exact color they were at the party. Beckman had never seen his eyes turn so cold. He continued on in a voice as cold as ice, "put this message out from the head of the DNI to the lowest members in the security field, 'If any harm comes to any of my team members I WILL find out who betrayed them and work up their chain of command until I reach the top.' Word it however you deem necessary just make it happen. Are there any questions for me before I go select my team?"

Chuck and Sarah now being used to Gabriel going off once in a while spoke up, "Do you have an ETA on your team and where will they fly into so we can pick them up."

The will fly into Naples on your plane. I will contact you with the arrival time. Please stay inside until you depart for the pickup. I need them to stay with you until we figure out what Larkin is up to. General do you agree to my plan?"

"I concur with your assessment of the situation and the response. Thank you for the review of my team they are the best I have. Agents sit tight until tomorrow and I will begin looking for the person or persons helping Larkin. We will brief in two days on the status of the mission. Beckman out."

"Sarah and Chuck everything I said is true but until my team arrives watch each other's backs. Gabriel out."

"I am not even going to ask if he was pissed. We've both seen those eyes before and they signal hellfire and brimstone for anyone in his way" stated Sarah.

"I just wonder who he is sending. It better not be Paris and Kim. They have a reputation of all play and no work" Chuck said with a chuckle.

"Enough about the mission and Bryce let's make dinner and relax. Then figure out what to do for the next two days until we are off lock down."

Unknown location Naples Italy

"Are you sure it was Walker and Bartowski?"

"I'm sure Sir. They were at the meeting today with Antonio and I."

"We need her back ASAP. That team Beckman has is making me look like a fool. Her whole job should be taking down Fulcrum not watching an asset."

"I know you want her back in the fold and she's wasting her talents with him."

"According to the grapevine she's in a relationship with the asset."

"No way is she compromised. She lives for this kind of thing. All I have to do is get him out of the picture and she'll come crawling back."

"How sure of your plan succeeding are you? If it fails I will disavow any knowledge of it and declare you a rogue Agent."

"It's been well over a year since Hansen went missing there is no chance of her coming back. All my sources say she died in that Bar. Our mole in the DEA has her in Columbia working with a team to take out a drug cartel. The mission there is at a standstill so they sent me here on a solo mission."

"For your sake I hope your right. Remember the saying Bryce 'the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray'" "I will take it under advisement Sir. You have a good night." Early the next morning Chuck and Sarah got the email they had been waiting for. The backup/security team would arrive at the airport around noon on the following day. They took the day they off to complete all the paperwork they had let slide. Sarah noticed in the last few months she had let her paperwork start to slide. She finally figured out the decline of her paperwork skill began after she married Chuck. The rewards for her outweighed the consequences so she didn't mind the occasional day where she had to play catch up. Their two day lock down had finally come to an end and it was time to pick up their support team. They went to the small _Aeroporto di Napoli_ that is used for charter flights and only has to terminals. One is for the loading of passenger and one for the unloading of passengers. They watched as their plane pulled up to the arrival terminal. When the hatch opened the first person to debark the plane was a woman of average looks and long blond hair dressed in jeans and a lightweight jacket. She was followed by a tall stunning red head wearing skinny jeans and a form fitting cowl neck sweater. When the blond got to the bottom of the jet ramp she waited. When the red head reached the bottom the blond took the red heads hand in hers walked towards where Chuck and Sarah standing. Chuck and Sarah were surprised when they saw the pair walking towards them. Sarah broke into a fast walk and headed towards her long time friend while Chuck just lagged behind allowing the two friends to catch up. "You're the team that Gabriel sent out to be our backup?" Sarah said while hugging her friend. "He said he wanted to stir the pot a bit. We can talk about it more at your place. Chuck and Sarah you remember my girl friend Samantha." "Yes I do Carina. It's nice to see you again Samantha." Chuck said as he reached out to shake her hand. But Samantha had other ideas and pulled him into a hug. "After what you did for my girl I'm sorry but a simple hand shake won't do it." "No we should be thanking you for helping us pick out our wedding rings." "So you finally remembered who I was?" "It took us a while but yes." "Let's head back to our place and get caught up and discuss what is going on." They made their way back to the house the couple was staying at. "Gabriel he wanted to shake things up so he sent us. He gave us the information on Bryce and what is going on. Our plan is for Sam and I to let Bryce get some glimpses of us together. He does think I am dead so by seeing glimpses of me we hope we can get him nervous and he starts to panic. He knows me from before as being straight so it should help keeping him confused about me." "That sounds go to us. So what have you two been doing since we last saw you?" asked Chuck.

"After you saved her ass" Sam points to Carina "Gabe gave us a couple weeks off to reconnect. She was on that damn detail for three months. But we did get to talk almost every night."

"But that's not the same as laying next to her in bed. I bet you two know all about that huh Sarah?"

"Not really Carina after Beckman sanctioned our relationship I moved in with him. We got married and have never been apart for even a night."

"I would love to hear that story" said Sam. Sarah and Chuck spent the next hour or so telling the new couple all the details. Then Carina and Sam explained how they ended up getting together to Chuck and Sarah. Carina was very impressed at how far Chuck had come along since the first time she had met him. As the conversation was coming to a close Chuck's phone started to ring.

"Hello"

"Mr. Wilson I can have your merchandise for you in two days. I expect you will have my money?" Antonio asked.

"I have the agreed upon amount. Where and when should we meet to complete our deal?"replied Chuck.

"My associate Mr. Lawson will contact you to arrange it. Meet him at the Antica Osteria Pisano in three hours. He has already made the reservations. I look forward to completing our deal."

"We will be there. Good bye Antonio."

"Good bye Chris and good day." And the call ended.

"Well this sucks" starts Chuck "we have a meeting with Bryce in three hours at the Antica Osteria Pisano. He already made the plans."

"That bastard" exclaimed Sarah "he was watching us when we went there. I knew something felt off."

"Calm down Sarah this meeting is a good thing for us" Sam said in a calming voice. "It is great time to start operation confuse Bryce."

"Sam's right you guys. It could have taken us days to find out where he is. Now we get him delivered right into our hands" Carina added in. "Now let's discuss our plans."

At the appointed time Chuck and Sarah were seated at their table waiting for Bryce. It wasn't long before he showed up. "Mr. Lawson how are you doing today" asked Chuck with a very questioning tone.

"Good Mr. Wilson, thank you for asking. Would you care to tell me why you guys are here?" hissed Bryce.

"Mr. Lawson I think we should keep to the reason we are here. When and where are we doing the transfer?" Sarah hissed back. Bryce was starting to realize this might not have been the smartest thing he ever did. They say if looks could kill then the looks he was getting from Chuck and Sarah would turn him into a fine red mist. "When we get done eating we will take a walk and discuss the deal."

"Fine we will do it your way but I want some answers from you two" said Bryce not willing to give in.

"Yeah and I want a million dollars so how does it feel to want" questioned Chuck.

"So let's cut the crap finish eating and take that walk" Bryce fired back.

They finished their meals in an awkward tension filled silence. When the meal finished they paid the bill and headed out. When they left the restaurant Chuck pointed a couple making out on the corner. "Now that's amore" Bryce turned to look at the couple and flinched. Locked in a heated embrace is a tall red head and a shorter blond female whose hands were freely roaming along the red heads back. The couple broke off the kiss and without turning walked down the street and away from the three Agents.

Bryce noticed the red head first. _Ok that's weird Chuck's acting like he sees this every day. And the red head looks familiar._ "Let's head up the street where there is less traffic." Chuck and Sarah looped their arms around each other and followed Bryce.

Carina and Sam ducked into an alley where they had hid prior to starting their part in the operation. They waited a couple of minutes before going to phase two of the plan. They went to the car they had parked a block away from the restaurant and made their way to the next spot they were to be seen.

Chuck and Sarah carefully led Bryce in the direction they wanted him to go. Finally it was time to confront Bryce. "OK Bryce what the hell are you doing here?" Sarah snapped. "And what are you doing with Antonio?

"I was at a standstill on my mission and got a lead on some activity here so I came to follow up."_ That should work._ Out of the corner of his eye he caught the sight of the red head he had seen earlier and recognized her. _No way! I know she is dead it can't be her._ Just as fast she was gone. "I used some of my fulcrum contacts to get information on an arms dealer that was selling weapons to the cartel I am trying to get the support of."

_He really is trying to be smooth _Chuck mused. "What we need to know is, are the weapons real?"

"Yes they are real. Fulcrum wants this cartel real bad. Their funding is getting cut off by someone and they can't figure out whom. They've lost most of their income from the west coast over the last couple months. In an effort to get closer to the leadership I'm trying to get them the Cartel and maybe Antonio. We do the deal tomorrow at three o'clock. What about you two?"

Sarah knew they couldn't say too much looked at Chuck and silently gave the signal she would handle it. "We came here for vacation and Chuck recognized Antonio from some pictures. Beckman asked me to see if we could get any information on him or his dealings. We want to get him off the streets."

As Sarah was finishing her tale Carina made herself visible again this time with Sam but only for a few seconds as they crossed the street ahead of Chuck's group.

_I know that's her. I better find out real fast if Sarah knows anything._ "Sarah I've been deep for a long time. Have you heard from Carina? I know you guys used to talk when you had a chance."

Sarah put her best upset face on and stiffened. "She died over a year ago in a bar while under cover with a drug gang. They raped her before the gunned her down." _Best keep with the story as it supposedly happened._

"Sarah why don't I give you and Bryce a few minutes to go over what you want to do. I'm just the asset here I'll leave the spy work up to you." Chuck slumped his shoulders and walked dejectedly away from the pair and went into a nearby store. _I hope that was good enough to fool that conceited ass._ Once in the store he found Carina and Sam waiting for him. Carina was the first to speak up "Is he getting nervous yet?"

"Oh yeah he is. He tried feeding us a line of crap about the fake mission he is on. And he asked about you. Sarah played up your death perfectly. Plus we are getting some good intel from him."

"You did good today as well getting Bryce getting to think it bothered you that he was here" Sam added.

Back on the street Bryce and Sarah continued on with Bryce. "Bryce what your telling me is that we are attempting to by weapons from Antonio who is getting the weapons from Fulcrum. So in the end we will be sending money to Fulcrum the same people we are trying to bring down."

"Sarah this could be the big break we are looking for. I'm getting closer to the leaders every day if you came with me it would cement my position with them. I can call my CIA handler and have you partnered with me. It's a win win situation for you. You can get back to deep cover work and stop babysitting Chuck."

"Are you sure you can get me partnered with you? Beckman has a pretty good hold on my current assignment. It would sure be good to get away from Burbank for good. Chucks a nice enough guy but he keeps bugging me to go a real date with him. He's getting to be a pain in the ass. Idiot even started talking about getting married on day. I really need to get out of there."

_This is going better than planned. A few phone calls and it's a done deal. Maybe I can even get Chuck out of the way while I'm at it._ "Let me make a call and see how soon you can join me." Bryce whips out his phone and makes the call "Larkin secure" Sarah sidles up to Bryce and puts her arm around him trying to listen in on the call but can only hear Bryce's conversation.

"Agent Walker would like to ask to be reassigned to me as soon as you can make it happen."

"Let me get her for you she'd right here. Sarah my handler wants to talk to you" as he hands her the phone.

"Walker here" Sarah needs all her skills not to slip up. She hasn't used that name for over six months. In an effort to keep their mission and relationship out of intelligence communities' hands she still does all her paperwork using Walker to sign her reports.

"Agent Daniel Shaw speaking I'm glad to finally get a chance to talk to you."

"How soon can I get out of the lame ass assignment I'm on and be partnered with Bryce."

"The director has been waiting for you to come to him for reassignment. We are both surprised it took you this long. Let me call the Director and let him know you want to work with Bryce. I can have your answer in a couple of hours."

"The sooner the better Shaw I'll give Larkin my address. When you have the answer call Larkin and he can tell me in person." She hand the phone back to Bryce and is grinning ear to ear. "I gotta head back to Chuck. He gets all clingy when I'm gone too long. Here's my address find me when you have the answer." And she leaves to go find Chuck. As soon as she reaches the store where Chuck went she ducks inside.

Bryce barely gets one hundred yards from where he was when his phone begins to ring. "Larkin Secure"

"Excellent work Agent Larkin excellent work" the Director says.

"Thank you Sir I told you it would be easy. What's our next move?"

"She wasn't kidding about the General having her on a tight leash. So here's what's going to happen. The arms deal goes down tomorrow as planned. Call me when you get close to her place and I'll call you back fifteen minutes later and tell her myself. Now here it gets tricky, Beckman won't let her go. So when she goes with you I'll leak it that she went rogue to follow you to Fulcrum. It will cement both of your covers. As for the asset I don't give a hoot about him. This is more important than on asset. This is about my pride. That team out there is making us look stupid. This could put us back on top where we should be."

"I hear you Sir. She will disappear with me as soon as the sale is over. Larkin out."

Back at Chuck and Sarah's another plan is taking shape. As soon as they got to the house Chuck contacted Beckman for a meeting while Sarah went to take a shower and change. She need to wash the stench of the poisonous snake off and was yelling about how she was going to burn her clothes that he had touched. When General Beckman came online Sarah quickly went over what they had found out. Sam suggested they wait to tell Gabriel about the events of the day saying he would blow a gasket and move to early. She explained he was fiercely protective of his people.

Beckman began speaking "I'm calling the Commanding General of Camp Ederle the US Army Garrison at Vicenza, home of the 173rd Airborne Brigade for assistance. We can use the soldiers to raid the Fulcrum hive with the assistance of Interpol and the local authorities. We can inform them of the location after Sarah gets it from Bryce later tonight." She takes a sip of water before continuing.

"Sarah and Chuck you go to the meeting tomorrow as planned with Sam and Carina as backup. I will notify my team as well. The mission has changed now. We can get Antonio into custody but because his supplier is Fulcrum there is no sense going any further. Once we have him and his small group you can come home. Good luck team and happy hunting."

"Chuck tonight is going to be hard on you. We are going to say some nasty things to each other. Can you handle it?"

"Six months ago I would have said no, but now it'll be a piece of cake. We know where we stand and if you let that prick touch you and not vomit I guess I can hear you cuss me out."

"Carina and Sam you better hide he will be here soon" added Sarah.

A short while later Bryce arrived. Chuck playing the upset nerd to perfection left the room. Bryce's cell rang a short time after Chuck left. "Larkin secure Sir I am with her now. He wants to speak with you."

"Walker tell me you have good news Sir."

"Your transfer has been approved. Welcome back Walker."

"Thank you Sir it's good to be back."

"That's all for now. After the deal goes down leave with Bryce and go to the hive. He tells me it's close to your location. Good bye."

"That's it Sarah we're partners again."

"Chuck get your ass in here." Chuck returns from where he is hiding "I'm done with this lame assignment. After the deal goes down I am leaving with Bryce. You can tell Casey because I'm not going back." Sarah seethed.

"Why are you doing this Sarah? We're a good team" whined Chuck.

"Bryce and I are better. I can do so much more with him than I can with you. As an added bonus I can get away from you constantly asking me out!" her voice was at a fever pitch now.

"But I like you! We could be good together if you ever got that stick out of your ass!"

"I have told you hundreds of times YOU ARE AN ASSET! But it never gets through your think head. I don't like you like that!"

"Fine then I hope you enjoy your life with that jerk." And with fake tears in his eyes chuck storms out of the room.

The time for the deal finally arrived. Before Bryce arrived Chuck and Sarah got themselves kitted out in their protective gear and weapons. So far the plan was working perfectly. Sarah and chuck were at each other's throats and Bryce had to play referee. They were waiting in a nondescript conference room with Antonio and five goons waiting for the first crate of AK's. When the crate arrived they opened it to inspect the weapons. Chuck handed to money over to Antonio. It was then that Bryce decided to make his move.

"Antonio that man there is an Agent of the CIA" pointing to Chuck "Seanna is a member of my group and was using him to feed us information. You can keep the money and weapons.." Bryce was cut off by a backhand from Sarah. Antonio's men began to attack Chuck but left Sarah and Bruce alone.

Chuck used a Flash and his own skilled moves to take out the first man to attack. The man led with a straight left hand, Chuck grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand and twisted it violently counter clock wise forcing the man's elbow upward towards the ceiling. He then brought his free left hand crashing downward on the elbow dislocating it and driving the man to his knees. He then delivered a sharp knee to the face knocking him out. He was now in full offensive mode. He leapt to where the second goon was and delivered a well placed front kick to the man's sternum dropping him to the ground. A hard left to the back of his head knocked the man out.

Sarah watched Chuck as he dispatched the first of his opponents. She watched as he efficiently took him out. She noticed that one of the attackers not engaged with Chuck began to reach into his jacket for his weapon. Sarah wasted no time in whipping out one of her throwing knives unleashed a blade at him. Her throw was right on the money and the third attacker dropped to the ground with a knife in his neck. She headed straight towards Chuck who was waiting for her. He let her get close the grabbed her arms and used her momentum to swing her in the direction of the forth attacker. Her foot made contact with the attacker's stomach but not hard enough to knock him out. She landed with the grace and agility of a large cat and continued her assault with a series of punches and kicks until he joined his friends in dream land.

Antonio's fifth man decided hand to hand would not end well for him so he drew his weapon. It was probably the dumbest thing he ever did, and his last. Chuck caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and mimicked his wife's actions from just a short time ago. In one fluid motion he unsheathed one of his own knives and released it at the attacker. It struck true hitting the attacker to the left center of his chest. The strike did not result in instant death but if the amount of blood that was being coughed up by the attacker was any indication the knife had hit a lung. Death was a possibility if he did not receive medical attention soon.

Bryce was amazed at what was happening before him. The meek mild mannered Chuck he knew from Stanford and months ago is now a highly skilled offensive fighting machine. He was sure Chuck was going to get is ass kicked when the first guy attacked but was shocked when Chuck used lightning fast reflexes to snap the man's elbow and knock him out. Then he went on the offense by going right at his next attacker taking him out as well. He began to realize the mistake in his plan when Sarah jumped to Chuck's aid. He was stunned as he watched Chuck and Sarah perform their deadly dance then groaned in frustration as he watched Chuck's knife fly true. He never thought he would see the day when Chuck could stand on his own in a fight and kill somebody. His last coherent thought was _I was wrong in Stanford._

They were about to take on Antonio when Sam came rushing in followed by a female completely covered in black. The masked attacker went straight to Bryce and knocked him on his ass and into goofy land. She continued to beat on him as her blows were not designed to knock him completely out but to inflict as much pain as she could. The beat down continued until she was pulled off by Sam. It took both Sam and Sarah to keep her under control. Antonio having just watched his five body guards get either knocked out or killed decided that discretion was the better part of valor and surrendered.

While the two women tried to get Carina under control Chuck quickly zip tied Antonio's wrists behind his back and moved to assist the attacker whom he had downed with a knife. He began to administer what aide he could to the man. The NSA back up team was called in by Carina right before she entered the building. The NSA team arrived soon after Carina and Sam entered the building. They soon had what was left of Antonio's group cuffed and ready for pick up. The ones that were injured were taken to the nearest medical facility for treatment. A cleaner was called in to sanitize the room.

While the deal was going down the members of the 173rd had no trouble taking down the Fulcrum hive. Thanks to the information provided to them they were able to reach the hives location fairly quickly. They cordoned off the area around the hives location and waited for the signal to go. The signal came for the operation to begin and the Interpol agents with the local police advance to the door requesting them to surrender. A few Fulcrum members tried to resist but when faced with the number of men facing them they quickly surrendered. Members of the local police were proud about being able to help bring down part of a terrorist organization.

With the mission complete they headed back to the house to conduct the briefing. Carina would not be attending in order to keep her being alive a secret from Bryce. The monitors sparked to life and the team was greeted by the Face of General Beckman and another guest whose screen was left dark. The General spoke first "Agent Bartowski inform me on the events the occurred after our last briefing."

Bryce began to pale at hearing Chuck addressed as Agent. _He's an agent now who would have thought. I need a way to fix this. I know Sarah will have my back on this. I was doing it for her._

"We weren't sure Agent Larkin was still on our side so Agent Walker and I set up a little sting operation of our own to test him out. Sarah got alone with him and put the plan into motion. She played the part of pissed of agent to perfection. Bryce believed she was willing to leave the team and join him in his fight against Fulcrum. We got the information we needed on the hives location and relayed it to you. I don't know how he arranged it Sarah and I have yet to discuss it. We had to keep up the appearance of her wanting to leave and me being heartbroken over it. Sarah can fill in the blanks" said Chuck ending his part of the briefing.

"Ma'am when I was alone with Larkin he explained that he could use his handler to get me back as his partner. He contacted CIA Agent Shaw and allowed me to speak to him. I convinced him I wanted to join Larkin. A couple of hours later I spoke directly to the Director of the CIA who welcomed me back. I was supposed to leave with Bryce right after the mission. Chuck and I will have the rest of the mission details sent to you when we finish up with the reports."

"Agent Larkin what do you have to add to this discussion?" asked a very annoyed General.

"At the time I did not know Chuck was an agent. The director has been trying to get Agent Walker back under his control. We both felt she was wasting her time babysitting an asset. I was wrong about that. During the meeting with Antonio I tried a ruse that didn't work out. I wanted Antonio to think Chuck was a CIA agent to throw him off. I figured he would be distracted enough for Sarah and I to take out his men and apprehend him. Chuck messed up my plan by attacking Antonio's men first. He almost ruined my mission" Bryce snapped out glaring at Chuck.

A loud growl could be heard from the direction of the blackened monitor followed by a icy voice "General we need to talk immediately."

"Team give us a couple minutes" stated Beckman.

Almost five thousand miles away a private conversation was taking place between the leaders of the elite team currently working in Italy. "Diane we have a problem. Agent Larkin is attempting to get Sarah away from Chuck. My opinion is Larkin wants Sarah for himself so he can use her again. I will not let this happen. I will handle this in my own way. Diane please stay out of it, it will only end badly for you."

"Gabe let me handle Larkin. He has been a pain in the ass for a while now. I have a suitable 'making air quotes' mission for him. I am sure you will agree it's a fitting punishment for him."

"Fine Diane but I get the director and Shaw. Now let's get back to the team."

The screens came back to life and the General started speaking

"Agent Larkin pack up and report to me in DC the day after tomorrow transportation has been arranged. I have a special mission for you. It requires you unique set of skill with seduction. Your director has approved your transfer to me effective immediately. You're dismissed so get out."

"Agents Bartowski you just completed another fine mission for your team. We not only got an arms dealer we took down a Fulcrum hive. The information Sarah got about Fulcrum feeling the financial pressure on them proves Gabriel's plan is working. You can take a few days to relax and see the sights before returning home."

As she ended her part of the conference Gabriel's face appeared. "Well done ladies and you too Chuck. Enjoy your stay in Italy I have some personal business to take care of so I will be out of the loop for a few days. Sirella will be in charge during my absence." And he cut the transmission.

What the team didn't know about were the thoughts in Gabriel's mind as he ended the call. _Goodbye Shaw, I am Gabriel the Archangel of Death. I am the Hunter. And you just became my prey. _

Several weeks later the General was sitting at her desk when her Aide knocked at the door.

"Enter" called the General from the confines of her office.

"Ma'am it just came over the wire. The director of the CIA was found dead in his home. He apparently had a heart attack while in bed with female companion" her aide reported.

A smile crept to her lips as the General just shook her head. "That will be all Lieutenant."

The General received her second surprise three weeks later when she was walking to the cafeteria to get some lunch. She overheard some workers talking about a story they heard on the news.

"Excuse me ladies" asked Beckman "who did you say was found dead"

"They found a guy named Shaw in a parking lot. It was really weird. Witnesses said he had left the restaurant he was eating at, paused to look at some minor damage to his car and fell over dead. He was shot in the head but nobody heard the shot."

"Thank you for explaining it. Have a good day ladies" said the General as she continued her trip. This time a knowing smile was on her lips. _I am really glad he is on my side because he doesn't play games._


	12. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Castle East Coast.

Chuck and Sarah had just finished up their morning training even though it could hardly be called training anymore. It was more like a maintenance session to keep up their skill level. The only real training they did was when they faced off against Sirella and Gabriel and learned the new forms of martial arts. They were just getting to hit the showers and change when Gabriel approached the couple.

"Chuck and Sarah I have just concluded a call with General Beckman. She has agreed that I can use you for a mission that is out of your normal venue. It is closely tied to my team completing our ultimate goal. I can't order you to do this but as I said during our initial this is of paramount importance. Can I count on your help" questioned Gabriel.

It didn't take the couple long to come to their decision and Sarah answered for them, "We would be glad to help you out Gabriel. When can we expect the mission to start?"

"My people need a few days to put together all the information we gathered from Admiral Smith's computer then put together a game plan. When they have it together I'll give you a call."

"We have some leads to track down on one of the businesses we have been checking out. We should be able to complete our investigation by then and pass the information on to the General. It seems like your plan of cutting off Fulcrum's finances and weapons is working. We verified Bryce's information from last month is true. Fulcrum's activity out west is way down and several agents that had turned are giving up information on various cells" Chuck added.

"That's good information to have. We will need to expand your training for this mission. You will need to be trained on some very unique bladed weapons that you will not have ever seen before. That's all for now I'll be in contact in a couple days" and he left the couple to get cleaned up.

"Well that was interesting" Chuck quipped.

"It should really be interesting to work with just Gabriel's team on this one. Carina says it's completely different than anything else she has done before" responded Sarah.

"Speaking of Carina it must be nice having your friend around all the time."

"You have no idea how good it is to have someone to talk to who has been through some of the same things I have. As an added bonus neither of us has to worry about how much danger either of us is in at any given time."

"Let's get back to the residence and send our reports to the General to tie up any loose ends we have."

Several days later Chuck, Casey, and Sarah found themselves seated in the large conference room of the castle east. On the large high definition monitor General Beckman was already in attendance waiting for Gabriel to appear. After a short wait Gabriel and Sirella entered the room and Gabriel took his spot at the head of the table.

"Team, General I am going to inform you of the plans for the upcoming mission I have tasked your agents with. Based on our assessment protocol I am considering this to be a low to medium risk mission. As it stands right now it will be mostly an observation mission" Gabriel began.

On another screen the picture of a man in his late fifties with brown hair that had begun to grey at the temples. He is dressed in a Naval Officers uniform. "At first we believed this man to be Admiral Smith. After reviewing the information that was obtained from both his computer and the bugs that were placed in his home buy Casey and Chuck we began to have doubts concerning his identity. When team Bartowski was in Italy I sent a team member to collect some DNA samples and finger prints from the Admirals home. Comparing the DNA evidence we got from the house to the DNA sample the Admiral had on file with the US Navy we did not get a match."

"I have met the Admiral several times after he arrived in Washington and his behavior never changed. I trust your people so how can you explain the switch?" inquired the General.

"From what my team has been able to figure out on his way from his last billet he made a stopover in Las Vegas for a few days. We believe the switch was made during this time but can't be sure. As I stated before this group will go to great lengths to accomplish its mission. Having a member of their group undergo such drastic plastic surgery would not stretch the realm of possibilities concerning them" Gabriel continued on.

"Sounds good so far but where do we come in" asked Casey

"I'm getting to that Casey. The Admiral likes to hang out at a restaurant called McMurphys which is frequented by naval personnel. He normally goes there after he finishes work before he heads home. We believe he meets other members of his group there occasionally. We are going to send an additional two teams with you to Mclean to assist you. Cameron and Liz will be going along with Carina and Sam. For now the plan is for you guys to just hang out in the bar and observe the Admiral. Decide how you want to rotate days in the bar. The ones not in the bar will remain outside in the van and monitor the situation or have the night off."

"You said for the time being we are to just hang out in the bar. When will we know if the plan changes? What is the alternate plan should we have to go to it." Sarah wanted be sure all the bases were covered.

"McMurphys is frequented by naval personnel from the Washington Naval Yard. You may have to adopt the persona of naval enlisted members to pull it off. For right now just act like you normally do but Chuck will have to get a military style hair cut prior to starting!" Gabriel said this with a small laugh.

"I have a big question for you" asked Chuck. "How will we be able to tell who his contacts are?"

"The organization they work for made up its own language. Something akin to the way Trekkies put a bunch of grunts and letters together and came up with the noises they call Klingon." This was said with a snarl. Gabriel took a minute to compose himself before he continued on.

"We are pretty sure they use it to pass information on to each other while in public. If someone questions them they can just they were Trekkies when younger and made up the language. Other than that we have no other leads. So as Colonel Casey would say we need to do some old fashion spy work. Pay attention to anyone he comes into contact with on a continuing basis."

"Ok team you have you orders contact Gabriel or his team members if you need anything. Gabriel my team is now all yours for the duration of this mission." The General faded from the screen.

"That's all I have for now. Your place has been set up in Mclean waiting for you to move in. It is a four bedroom house so there should be enough room for the seven of you to live without killing each other. Check in with me if you need anything else." With that Gabriel concluded the meeting and left the room.

"Why would he wonder about us killing each other" Chuck mused.

"You haven't been around my wife and I very much have you?" stated Cameron "We don't believe in hiding our feeling, then you and Sarah are married and finally add to that Carina and Sam have been in a relationship for a long time now. The final piece of the puzzle is Casey. Gabe knows he tolerates the way you two act around each other but now he has two other couples to deal with. Gabe hopes he can deal with it."

"Huh, I never thought about it that way. Were so used to having him around anymore it just seems natural" tossed out Sarah.

"It's not the feelings I'm worried about with you guys I'm worried about getting in the bathroom." Casey stated "Besides watching you to" pointing to Chuck and Sarah "has me reconsidering the crap they taught us about feelings getting you killed."

"I may have somebody for you Casey" Liz entered the conversation "but I need to know a few things first. Do you prefer your relationships to be with someone of the same sex or of the opposite sex?"

That question brought about a wide assortment of reactions. Carina broke out in laughter and fell off her chair taking her girlfriend along for the ride. Cameron glared daggers at her wife and crossed her arms across her chest. Sarah and Chuck had just about the same reaction, utter shock and surprise. They thought Casey would be blowing his stack about now but he was sitting calmly in his seat.

Liz turned to look at her wife and asked, "What? It's a legitimate question with these people. When Carina joined us she was a confirmed heterosexual. After a couple months she's going out on a date with Sam. Next thing you know she's playing for our team. So I ask you again what's wrong with my question."

"Liz I am interested in females and can get my own girl if I want" Casey answered.

"Doing well so far Casey" Chuck mumbled under his so only Sarah could him. She let out a small laugh trying to hide her smile.

"Before this gets way out of hand I suggest we head back to the residence and pack" suggested Sarah. The other members of the team followed her lead and headed for the exit to make their way home. Casey got into his crown vic and left the married couple behind. Chuck had mentioned to Sarah after the mission in Italy that one area he had not received much training was in evasive driving. Now they made it a point to switch cars every day. Chuck thought back to what started it.

_They had just left the nest and were headed home. "Sarah let me drive home for a change"_

"_Not on your life babe. This is my baby and no one drives her but me."_

"_I promise I'll be careful with it." Chuck pleaded._

"_Not until I am satisfied you can handle it. I've seen how you drive the Viper and let me tell you, you've got a long way to go before you drive my car."_

"_Well whose fault is that? We practice everything else I need but do we practice evasive driving? Nope! The last thing I need is for me to have to out drive someone and find out this" tapping his head "doesn't have that skill set. It's not like it came with an instruction manual."_

"_Your right Chuck we've been concentrating so much on the physical skills you need we forgot about the little ones. Starting tomorrow we switch cars every day and I'll teach you on your day to drive."_

"_Thank you" said Chuck as he slide into the passenger seat of Sarah's Porsche. _

They got in the Viper and headed home to prepare for the trip. Packing did not take as long anymore. They had separate closets for normal wear and designer wear. A short while later they were at the pad waiting for the Bell to arrive and cart them off to DC where the General had transportation waiting for them.

The first week went by slowly for the team. They each took a night staking out McMurphys trying to get information on the Admiral and his friends. Casey learned from the bartender on the second night that the Admiral only came in during the week and never on the weekend. It was the Tuesday of the second week so it was Chuck and Sarah's night to monitor from the van while Liz and Cameron were inside. The couple is sitting at their normal booth enjoying a beer when Sarah could be heard over the earwigs, "Heads up guys Smith is heading your way and this time he brought a friend. His companion is female in her mid forties. She is about five four with shoulder length brown hair wearing jeans and a black top. Chuck didn't notice anything about her so she shouldn't pose a threat from any of our other friends."

"Thanks Sarah we'll take it from here" stated Liz. "I just hope she is part of the group and not just some acquaintance of his." A few moments passed before Liz began speaking again, "Sarah I need to change the plan a bit tonight. This place is more crowded than usual so Smith is not sitting in his usual booth. Cameron is going to place a bug near his booth. You need to change over to channel nine to listen and record their conversation."

"Thanks Liz Chuck is switching over now. Can you give us a quick check to make sure the bug is up and running?"

"Sarah how do read?"

"We have you loud and clear Cameron."

Cameron got out of the booth and swayed slightly from side to side in an attempt to get her balance. As she made her way to the ladies room she weaved a little every couple steps making sure the patrons in the bar thought she had a few to many drinks. On her return trip she stumbled when she got next to Smiths booth and grabbed the back of the bench for support expertly placing the bug in the jacket the woman wore when she came in.

"Sorry" Cam said with a giggle "one to many on an empty stomach."

"No problem miss it happens to me once in a while" replied Smith.

Cam made her way back to her booth where she flopped down on the bench and let out a large sigh to emphasize her condition. Once seated she contacted Sarah "The critter is in place. You should be able to hear them now."

"Nice work Cam I can hear them loud and clear."

"Sarah two men just joined Smith and his lady friend. Send Chuck in to use the bathroom and maybe he will recognize the men." Chuck who is also listening in the van looks to Sarah for approval and heads in to use the facilities.

Chuck flashes on one of the two men now sitting with Smith but continues to the van so he can pass the information on to Sarah. Once safely in the van he passes on what he found. "The older blond haired guy is Harold Banes FBI currently listed as being in Texas working with the border patrol to stop human trafficking. The second one I have nothing on."

"We will let Beckman know when we get back for now we need to see what Smith has to say."

"_I have reserved the back room for us tonight so we can speak in safety. My people have swept it for bugs and its clean."_

"Liz Cam they are getting ready to move to the back room. You guys can pack it in and come to the van" Chuck suggested.

"We will be there in a few minutes we need to pay then we can head out."

"_Smith what the hell is going on? We just had a major setback in Europe! Larkin assured us that he could get the weapons deal done. We need more money! You think the people I have working for me do it for free? They have turned their backs on their country and want it made worth their while."_

"_Relax Joe Europe was just a minor setback. My main concern is we lost two of our best moles in the CIA. Julie what have you got for us?"_

"_Not much from my end either. Whatever project Beckman's been put on is way above my level. Rumor has it she only answers to the President. My CIA contacts are starting to get nervous. Shaw getting his head blown off in broad daylight has made them jumpy. All I know is there is a rumor going around about this unbelievable team. Everything the do is perfect and nobody knows who they are. I can't even tell you what sex they are!"_

"_Banes where do stand with your shipment?"_

"_We are right on schedule for the pickup. There will be forty or so young females' crossing over near Mission Texas tomorrow night. We have a spot lined up outside of town where we will meet them. From there they will be sent with our other guest to be properly trained and the sold off. We estimate we can get between ten and fifteen thousand a head after training."_

"_Excellent keep up the good work" the voice of Smith could be heard saying. _

"_Listen Smith this isn't just about Fulcrum anymore. My bosses are just using them to weed out the CIA and NSA people that have joined them. Once they prove themselves they get to move up to the next level and join with us. But now that Fulcrum is getting weaker every day because of this unknown team causing my bosses to get jumpy. Larkin was our best shot and he's gone now. He said he could get his old partner to turn but got caught in that fiasco in Italy."_

"_No problem Joe I'm having a meeting with the two regional commanders from my elite unit Friday night at my place. When I have some additional information I'll you guys know. I think that concludes our meeting for tonight. Julie, remain behind one minute will you?"_

_Switching to their native language, "get the other two to my place Friday. We need to make some new plans and soon."_

"_Got it boss" and they both leave._

Cameron started barking out orders "Sarah we need to get Beckman in the loop now. Chuck I'll get Casey on the line and have him get everyone else ready to go. You get us there as fast as you can without killing us. Liz you call Gabe and have him get his ass down here now. Sarah you call Beckman and tell her we need to use her secure meeting room and she needs to be there."

"Are you nuts!" exclaimed Sarah "I can't call a two Star General and say you need to meet us now."

"You bet your sexy ass you can!" Cameron snapped back, "you're working for Gabe right now, and if it's still unclear to you so is the General every time he borrows your team. So if Gabe tells the General to jump not only will she jump but she'll ask how fucking high! So make the fucking call and stop wasting time!"

_Damn I have got to remember these people are half nuts. Happy as hell one minute ready to kill the next._ She thinks as she dials Beckman's number.

"Beckman Secure but in public"

"Bartowski secure in route to our house. Gabriel requires you to meet us in your secure briefing room as soon as you can get there" Sarah explained.

"I will call a head and let the people on duty I will be coming in and to get the room ready. I just have to drop Jennifer off at home first."

"We will see you there Ma'am Bartowski out."

"Beckman out"

Sarah turned around to tell Cameron that the meeting was set up when she heard something that caused her to pause. Liz was staring at her wife with an expression on her face that looked like she was ready to spit nails.

"What do you mean sexy ass!" Liz growled out. "When did you start checking her ass out?"

"Liz it's just an expression!" Cameron countered.

"It's an expression that requires observation first! I would have been ok with sorry ass or stupid ass but sexy ass no way!"

"How can you say it's not sexy, have you looked at it?"

"Of course I've looked at it why do you think I'm pissed!"

"Wait a minute if you looked at it and thought it was sexy and I looked at it and thought it was sexy why the hell are we fighting over it!" this last statement from Cameron stopped Liz's tirade dead in its tracks.

"You know I have no idea. You have to admit it is a fine ass" Liz composed herself enough to respond.

"Have you ever wondered what it would feel like if you just reached and grabbed a handful of it one day?"

_Oh dear Lord what is it with these people wondered Sarah_

"You bet I have especially when she wears those black skinny jeans with those peep toe wedges."

"HEY I'm right frikkin here you know. What about you Chuck aren't you going to say something?"

Chuck was still in shock from what he had been listening to said the first thing that came to his mind "What else can I add to that? You do have a great ass."

Sarah was about to make a quick retort when she realized _what am I mad at Chuck for? His saying goofy things like that are part of his charm. No matter what we have been through he has managed to keep his inner nerd. Yep that's my Chuck, that's my Nerd!_

"Thank you all for noticing my sexy ass now can we change the topic before we pick up the other three?"

"No problem Sarah but just to let you know Carina tried to describe how sexy it was but we needed to see it for ourselves!" Cameron piped in.

It took a while for everyone to get assembled in the conference room so the briefing could begin. First up was Cameron who played the recordings from earlier. Beckman was pleased and distressed at the same time. Pleased because her team was making huge strides in the war against Fulcrum and nobody had a clue about who they are. Beckman was distressed because she just learned that Fulcrum was just a pawn in a larger rogue agency.

"General I think this situation calls for a two prong attack. I want to send Chuck and the team he is currently with to Texas. We already know of one FBI agent that is working for Fulcrum so there may be more. I'll take Sirella and a small team of my people to the Admirals house."

Chuck was about to speak up when Gabriel cut him off. "I know what you're thinking Chuck that your team should back us up. But you'd never make it back in time. Plus you may flash on a lot of agents and have to take them in as well."

"That sound like a good plan to me. While we were awaiting your arrival I looked up what law enforcement agency had jurisdiction around Mission Texas. I found out it is the Mcallen County Sheriff Department. I need to make some calls while you head to Texas and get them ready for your arrival."

"Very good General my team will take of the Admiral and his crew. Chuck Sarah I need you to stay behind for a side briefing along with the General. Liz you can take Casey back to the house. Sirella and I will get Chuck and Sarah home. After the others left Gabriel began his little information briefing.

"These people you are going up against are ruthless. They will probably shoot as many of the girls as they can before they are taken. We are going to give you a way to help prevent that. The best way to achieve this is to kill as quiet as you can. On some of my past missions I found some of the oldest weapons to be the best."

Gabriel turns his laptop around to display a picture of a crossbow. "This will give you the silence you need to take out the guards. My weapons person has greatly improved the design. The crossbows have already been sighted in at seventy five yards with an impact of sixty five pounds. It only takes fifty pounds to penetrate a moose so it will easily take down a man."

"You mean to tell me I have to learn how to shot a crossbow in one day" questioned Chuck.

"Not exactly Chuck. The reason you and Sarah had to stay is we are going to give you the ability to use the crossbow. The Doc found out when he gave you your exams that Sarah can handle a very small data upload. We have made one that will enable her like you to flash on the skills required. It will take just a few seconds to upload."

Chuck was worried about Sarah so he asked "Wouldn't it be better if Casey got the upload instead?"

"We wanted to give the three of you the upload but Casey would not be able to handle the data."

"No way, I have seen what it can do to other people. I won't take that Chance with Sarah" as he moved to stand in front of her. Chuck turned slowly around to face her and gently took her hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes"

What are you doing?

I'm your husband.

It's not your job.

Yeah it is.

Why not ask what I want

I'm scared

I know you are so am I

Would we need to make sure it's safe

Yeah I should

Ok

With that chuck turned around and realized they hadn't spoken a word

Chuck shook his head and said "Are you sure it won't hurt Sarah."

"Relax Chuck the Doc says it will be fine."

"Sarah it's up to you if you want to go through with it or not" added Chuck.

"Well since Chuck joined the CIA for me I guess I can try this out."

"Just give the General and I a minute to get out of the room and click on the crossbow. The computer will shut down when the upload is complete."

Chuck reached out and held Sarah's hand as he hit the icon. Several seconds later the computer powered off and Chuck checked on Sarah. She seemed to wobble a little before regaining her balance.

"Sarah how do you feel you look kind of shaky."

"I feel a little woozy but other than that not bad. How the hell do you stuff all that crap in your head?"

"Hell if I know. Let's call in Gabriel and the General then he can test you out."

The General and Gabriel reentered the room and Gabriel pulled out a picture that started the flash for Sarah and Chuck. Sarah was amazed at the images that flashed in her mind type of arrows, flight path of the arrows, maximum effective range. She also got the information on how to use and fire the weapon. The most important thing was she felt confident that when the time came to use the crossbow she would be able to it.

"That was Awesome! Is that how it is every time you flash? Damn it was crazy."

"Sarah you need to relax" Chuck said.

"Nuh Uh I'm going to savor this for a while. It was like watching a movie in my mind. Wow just wow."

"Take it easy Sarah or that will be the last one you get!" Gabriel said with a laugh. "Since we know the upload worked we can get you two on the road to Texas. I'll have your jet here in the morning to take you and your team to Texas. General may I make a suggestion?"

"This is your operation so I don't see why not."

"I think it would be a good idea if you went with your team to observe the mission. You only get to see the reports and never get to see them in action."

"Chuck looks like you have a shadow for the mission. I'll meet you at Andrews for a 0600 wheels up." And as was her normal custom she exited the room and was gone. The remaining members followed her out.

The day of the mission finally arrived Casey conducted the briefing. "We have arranged for the local Sheriff's office to contain the outside perimeter while our teams do the heavy lifting. We have conducted a recon and as of now the building in question is unguarded. There is only a dirt road leading up the target." Casey took this time to pull up a map of the area on the laptop he was using.

"Sarah and Chuck you two will need to position your selves on the corners of the south end of the building about fifty yards out. This will give you a view of the front of the building. Sam and Carina you will each take a corner on the north side of the building armed with M40-A3 sniper rifles. Cameron and General Beckman will stay in the van and monitor our communications and reposition us if needed. Liz and I will remain out of site on the road leading up to the house. If possible we will attempt to use the dust as cover and follow them in."

"This is the critical part of the mission. We need to wait until the men have been positioned before we make our move. Cameron you call out the targets for Sarah and Chuck to take out first. Let's go get in position people."

The van for that night's mission was special. The outside was painted in a flat black similar to what is used on the B-1 bomber. It was made to prevent light reflecting off it. There was also a flat grey pattern over the black to help break up the shape of the van. Most of the monitoring would be done by special thermal and infer red cameras mounted on the outside of the van. This allowed the windows to be painted over in a flat black as well. Each of the team would have IR reflective tape on their mission gear so they could be identified as friendly forces.

The Night of the mission finally arrived. Everything was going in favor of team Bartowski. It was a new moon which worked in their favor as it was unlikely the human traffickers would have night vision equipment. The Mcallen County Sheriff's department was spread out on the perimeter leaving the avenue of approach open for the traffickers to get to the meet site. They had witnessed the arrival of the first group of girls several hours ago. They had been herded into a small building not any bigger than a two car garage. Now they just to lay in wait for the rest to arrive. There were only four men left to guard the building once the girls had been locked inside.

Slightly after ten Casey called in "Cam we have incoming ETA two minutes. There is one pickup and a small box truck."

"I have eyes on the vehicles. Sarah and Chuck status check." Cameron questioned over the comm. link

"Locked, cocked and ready to rock" was Chucks answer.

"I'm ready to go just waiting for the go signal."

"Carina and Sam you guys up"

"Affirmative" was echoed in Cameron's head set.

It took several minutes but the girls were loaded into the house from the box truck. Two men stayed about twenty yards up the road, three more took up posts closed to the door and the last man went around to the back. The man who came in the pickup was waiting inside his truck.

"Sarah and Chuck on one you take out the two men in that stayed back. Take the ones on your side. After you take them out go for the ones closest to the house. You'll need to be quick to get then second two. Carina or Sam take the one in the back when you hear the second go. That should leave one in the front to deal with. It will be your call on how it goes down from that point. It's show time" Cameron announced.

"Chuck how are you doing over there" asked Sarah.

"I feel like an Icelandic assassin in the desert" replied Chuck.

"Ready… three," four weapons were raised in almost perfect synchronization to the eyes of the person holding them. "two…" sight pictures and targets were acquired and two breathes were held on the exhales. "one…" the two fingers on the triggers of the crossbows squeezed gently on the trigger letting loose the arrows from the crossbows. The arrows flew straight and true each impacting its target with approximately seventy foot pounds of kinetic energy. The one hundred grain broad head tips tore through the human flesh and bone destroying any organs it came in contact with.

The two men dropped instantly to the ground unable to sound any warning. Chuck and Sarah reloaded quickly and selected their new targets. "Cameron I'm up again taking the one on the right" Sarah barked out.

"Ready here as well" Chuck in added in.

"Ready….GO" Cameron announced.

Several things happened at once. To more arrows flew to their Targets with the same results. Two shots from the M40-A3 Sniper rifle rang out from the rear of the building. The almost simultaneous double tap from the 7.62 rounds impacting the head of the target caused the man's head to literally explode leaving no doubt he was dead. A third shot rang out from the direction of the van and the last man guarding the house fell to his knees grabbing his shoulder. Casey and Liz called in to the Sheriff to move in and block the area then started their drive back to the house as soon as the first GO was given. The man in the pickup had tried to get away but Casey rammed the truck with the SUV he was driving causing it to spin out. They both exited the SUV and drug the man out and put him in plasti cuffs.

The four snipers turned instantly to the sound of the third shot. What they saw astounded them. Laying on top of the van in the prone unsupported firing position was none other than General Beckman holding an M4.

By the time the team members got back to the van Beckman had already climbed down from the van and was waiting for them.

"It's about time you guys got here" quipped the General still holding the M-4.

"General what part of stay in the Van don't you understand" said Chuck on reflex.

"That has got to be the funniest thing I have ever heard coming from you. Stay in the van really Chuck after all the times you got out of the Van. That's a good one" said the General barely controlling her laughter. By now most of the team was in hysterics.

"Nice shot General" said Casey."

"Nice shot my ass Colonel, I was aiming for his head" stated the General.

"Looks like when we get I have to get you on the range" said Casey. "We have Harold Banes of the FBI in custody. He was driving the pickup. The man you shot we are still waiting for an ID on. We rescued thirty four girls. We are leaving the Sheriff along with child services in charge of the kids."

"Very good job tonight people let's go back Washington and do a brief when we get there."

**BACK IN DC**

Gabriel and Sirella along with two other team members crashed into Smiths house. Gabriel and Sirella crashed through the front bay window while the two others stormed in through the back door. As soon as Gabriel hit the door he unleashed a series of special darts hitting each member sitting at the table.

Smith and his people stood up and took up a defensive stance. "Ghost what are you and your people doing here" Smith yelled at Gabriel.

"I'm your worst nightmare. Those darts I hit you with will prevent you from changing to your normal form. So now it's just us so what do you traditional weapons? Best team wins?" taunted Gabriel.

Almost instantly strange bladed weapons appeared in the hands of Smiths team's hands. Almost as quickly bat'leths appeared in the hands of Gabriel and Sirella. The other team members had their bladed weapons of choice. The individual battles began as soon the weapons were in the open.

Gabriel blocked Smiths first strike easily catching the blade between the tip and the center of the blade and deflecting it off the left never stopping his blade as he brought the right side of the bat'leth up and across Smith's Chest causing a large cut to appear.

"First blood is mine" Growled Gabriel who was relentless in his attack. Smith managed to block most of Gabriel's strikes but the ones that landed drew blood. Smith attempted a counter attack by trying a looping stroke at Gabriel's knees but Gabriel defended by dropping the left side of the bat'leth planting the left tip in the floor just as Smiths weapon was set to impact his leg. Smith's weapon bounced harmlessly away from Gabe's legs. Gabriel landed a straight right had to Smiths face knocking him back. Gabriel advanced forward moving the blade of the bat'leth in a figure eight pattern designed to confuse his attacker. He feigned an attack with the left side of the bat'leth and when Smith moved his blade to defend his right side from the attack Gabriel switched his stroke and brought the right side of his blade up and across the throat of his attacker. Smith fell to his knees with both hands on his neck trying to stem the flow of blood and Gabriel gave him one last piece of advice. "Charlie Daniels once said" as he watched the life fade from Smiths eyes "I done told you once you son of a bitch I'm the best there's ever been."

Sirella's confrontation with Julia was much quicker. Julia's first stroke was wide allowing Sirella a clean strike to the wrist area that severed the hand was holding the bladed weapon. On Sirella's next strike she embedded the right tip of her bat'leth in her opponents' chest and penetrating her heart. The battle in the other room was over quickly as well.

Gabriel gathered his group and allowed his cleaner team to remove the trash and make the place presentable. Making a quick call to the General it was decided they would assemble when the Bartowski team returned to go over the results of both missions.

The following afternoon all parties were crowded around the table in the Generals secure room. General Beckman opened the briefing. "Normally I would ask my team how their mission went but because I was there I see no reason to go over it again. Can you explain to me how your end of the mission went?"

"We used a modified smash and grab. Two members of my team breeched the rear door of the house and approached the agents from the rear. Sirella and I gained entry by smashing through the bay window of the house. Our entry surprised the agents enough to let us get the upper hand. I demanded they surrender but they refused. A small confrontation began but my team dispatched the agent with extreme prejudice. We called in the cleaners and recovered what we could."

"You have a cover story for what happened to the Admiral I hope?"

"It was a home invasion gone badly. The Admiral died when his attacker sliced his throat, Julia who works in the Pentagons security section was knifed in the chest the other two died from multiple stab wounds. To help with the cover story our cleaner team ransacked the house and too most of the valuables they could."

_Carina wasn't kidding when she said they dispatched a room full of men using knives. _

"General I have a question for you. Do you not understand English? We agreed you were going to shadow your team not partake in the mission" questioned Gabriel.

"This may sound funny coming from me but I now know how Chuck used to feel. I was sitting in the van and felt I needed to do something to help out. We had all the targets marked except the one at the door. I saw my chance to help so I grabbed an M-4 and got into position. I waited till I heard the shots from the snipers and shot my target."

"But she was aiming for the head" added Cameron.

"But I hit the target didn't I?"

"Children settle down. What is your assessment of your team?" Sirella asked joining the briefing.

"I have seen the reports and listened to your comments about them but it really hit home how good they are. During the planning phase they laid everything out in details. They had two contingency plans in case the primary one went south. When it came time to execute the mission it went off as planned. Each member of the team performed his or her job in a professional manner. Simply put I was impressed."

A round of thank you Ma'am and General came from the team sitting around the crowded table.

"That concludes my part of the briefing does anyone have anything to add?"

"General Chuck and I are having a party next week and we would like to invite you and your fiancée as well as all the members from Gabriel's team. Many of the people we are looking into will be there so it is civilian dress only. Please let us know if you can attend and tell Jen that Chuck has four tickets behind home plate for the Phils game the night before the Party."

"You don't play fair do you Sarah? If I tell Jen I passed up on a party and tickets to the Phils I'll be on the couch for a week."

"You don't need to worry about me Chuck already called Jen and told her." The General glared at Chuck but he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Plus it will give us a chance to show you the residence."

"Fine well be there."

"We will send the Bell to get you and bring you here. You can stay in one of the guest rooms" added Chuck.

"Since we have drifted so far off track I believe this briefing is over. Have a good day." After the General rose everyone else got up and headed home. Another successful mission for the team.


	13. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The day of the party had finally arrived. Chuck and Sarah were walking hand in hand across the large expanse of land they referred to as the back yard. They had just completed the last inspection of the area that was going to be used for the party. The Olympic size swimming pool was covered and the area converted to a dance floor. A stage had been set up where the band would perform. The pavilion area was now filled with long tables that would be used for dining and relaxing after the band began playing. Other tables were placed in the immediate area surrounding the pavilion.

"I can't wait until tonight is over" says an exhausted Chuck. "This past week has been a pain in the neck. If one more thing went wrong I was going to cancel the entire thing."

"It really wasn't all that bad. A few minor hiccups with the caterer and the ice sculptures getting here late were all that went wrong. Ellie and Devon managed to get time off at the last minute and arrived here last night. That has to count for something."

"That was the high point of the week so far. With all the powerful people you had to get close to I can't believe you never had to do any of this before."

"I hate to break it to you Hun, but on most of my missions I was the eye candy. I never played the part of the hostess. Plus most of those powerful men got that way by doing illegal things. These people are mostly honest businessmen that have been investing money in companies they think are legitimate."

"You win that point but don't you think the CIA could have done it for us?"

"I thought of that as well. I'll be honest with you Chuck this kind of mission is different for me as well. Think about this for a second. On one hand we're deep under cover trying to get information on who's funding Fulcrum and cutting off their funds. On the other hand we are actively assisting other agencies bring in the bad guys." Sarah leads Chuck to one of the tables set up on the lawn and motions for him to sit down. When he does she perches herself on his lap and gives him a quick kiss.

"Beckman and Gabriel both said this could take years to complete. My guess is they want us to learn how to all this stuff on our own," finishes Sarah while snuggling closer to Chuck.

"I suppose it would look awkward if one of the guys we are looking into asked us to recommend a caterer and we couldn't give them an answer. Everything looks good. I think it's time to head back and get ready for the party." Chuck gives Sarah another kiss before helping her off his lap. Linking arms they make their way back to the residence giving everything one last quick glance on the way back.

The couple made it back to The Residence which by now was a hub of activity with the Gourmet Kitchen acting as the command center. The workers from the catering company were hurrying about making the last minute changes and adding the final touches to the areas that needed them. In the Ball Room the DJ was conducting his final sound and lighting checks. The final checks that had to be made were outside the Foyer where the guests would be arriving. A small crew would be waiting there to assist the guests that arrived by limousine. A valet would park the cars of those that chose to drive themselves. Satisfied that all was in order they made their way back to the main living room where Devon and Ellie along with Casey are waiting for them.

"It's about time you two decided to show up," needled Casey.

"Stuff it Casey, as head of security for this extravagant event you should be checking on your people not sitting here drinking my Macallans," Chuck fires back pointing to the glass in Casey's hand.

A strange metamorphosis had been slowly happening between Casey and Chuck. Chuck had begun to mature as a person and as an agent. Casey began to see this and no longer felt the need to push Chuck into seeing the seriousness of the job. Casey saw Chuck as a partner and a friend. Chuck began to relax around Casey as the insults became less and less frequent. Soon they turned into friendly jabs intended to get a rise out of Chuck but not insult him. Chuck began to relax enough around Casey to return those jabs giving almost as good as the ones he got.

"If you didn't buy it I wouldn't feel obligated to drink it. The security is set and ready to go. I made arrangements with some of the local police departments to hire," Casey was making air quotes "any off duty offices that wanted the overtime. We pay the hourly wage to the Departments they work for who in turn pays them. This allows them to be on duty in case any thing should happen."

"That still doesn't explain why you are drinking my booze!" Chuck pauses a second to look Casey over before continuing "You're not wearing that are you?" referring to the jacket and trouser combination Casey is wearing.

"Yep! See.. the thing is…" Casey leans back in the recliner he is sitting on and takes a sip from his glass. "I'm your head of security. You are the multimillionaire and this is your show. You and the little woman are the ones on display tonight not me. While you are hob knobbing it with the rich and famous I will be discretely watching from behind the scenes."

"Speaking of on display tonight it's time for Ellie and me to go get ready." Sarah turns to Ellie, "Ready to get your war paint on?" Sarah gently takes Ellie's hand and leads her out of the living room.

"Ready as I'll ever be. You do know I have put makeup on lots of times I think I can handle it," which causes Sarah to chuckle under her breath.

"No silly were not doing our makeup and hair they are," Sarah says as she points to a small group of men and women assembled in the room they had just entered.

"Are you kidding me!" asks an astounded Ellie. "There is like a mini spa in here. I can't believe you are going through all this for a party."

"This is pretty much how it goes for us every time we have to attend one of these things. Trust me you get used to it. The guys are after us so we need to get started because we take longer." She sat down in one of the chairs and motioned for Ellie to do the same. Within minutes the two women were being pampered. In the end Sarah's hair was done in a loose chignon with tendrils of loosely curled hair on either side of her face. Ellie had chosen a French braid for her style. She also elected to have the loose curls.

Chuck and Sarah were finally ready for their guests to arrive. Chuck was dressed in a Ralph Lauren classic black tuxedo with crisp white shirt with diamond cufflinks and dark grey tie. Sarah was dressed in a black satin cocktail dress. The top was in a corset style with an intricate crisscross design on the mid section. The back was laced up from just above her buttocks to above her rib cage leaving just enough of her magnificent back exposed. At the waist the dress was pleated and flared slightly away from her hips reaching just below mid thigh. The underlying semi transparent silk layer fell to just above her knees. She chose a pair of black satin ankle wrap shoes with a three inch heels to complete the look.

To complete her ensemble Sarah selected something from her Tiffany collection. A bib necklace of diamonds and rubies adorned her neck while her right wrist displayed the matching tennis bracelet. Completing the look a pair of diamond and ruby earrings dangled from her ears. The couple was about to head to the reception area when the bed side phone rang.

"What's up Casey?" inquired Sarah.

"The day I look like Casey is the day I get out of this business," laughed Carina on the other end of the house phone. "Sam and I just arrived. I wanted to get together with you for a bit and catch up before this party gets into full swing. Chuck can show Sam around while we talk."

"Carina, have Casey take you to the conservatory and we'll meet you there. I'll let Chuck know you guys are here. We just finished getting ready so we'll be down in a few minutes." Sarah hung up the phone and turned to Chuck "Some of our friends have started to arrive and would like to spend a few minutes with us before the party starts." She took hold of Chucks hand and led him out of the bedroom towards their waiting friends.

"I'm glad Carina came with Sam tonight. I would have hated to see that beautiful dress get ruined during the ruckus that normally announces Carina's arrival."

"I think those days are gone for good Chuck. She seems much more settled than she was before. We saw during our mission in Italy that she stuck with the plans and didn't go off half cocked like she did before." Sarah paused to get her thoughts in order before continuing "Before she hooked up with Sam she never had anything to lose, but now she does so she is more focused while working."

As they made their way to meet Carina they paused several times to greet a few of the early arrivals and point them in the direction of the pavilion. The meet and greets delayed them a bit so it took them a little longer than normal to get to the conservatory where their friends were waiting. The sight that greeted them when they arrived was truly stunning. Standing before them was one of the most striking couples they had ever seen.

Carina was dressed in a satin light peach spaghetti strap cocktail dress that hung to her curves in all the right places. The bodice top accentuated her breasts and torso before ending just above the knees. The dress flared out from this point and fell to just above the calf. Her hair was done in a loose French twist with decorative chopsticks used to secure it in place. Around her neck was a pearl opera style necklace that rested on the swell of her breasts.

Samantha was equally stunning in a maroon cocktail dress. The top was a corset style with slightly darker V shaped pleated panel that began on the outside of her breasts and ended at the waist. The panel was laced along the edges to highlight the panel. The back of her dress was open in the same shape as the panel on the front. It was laced down from the top and closed just above the waist with the laces hanging to just below the knee. At the waist the dress loosened slightly and reached below the knees. The right side was slit from mid thigh to the hem allowing for freedom of movement. She wore a diamond choker around her neck to complete her look.

"Carina, Samantha, you look absolutely stunning tonight," Chuck said as he extended his hand. "Sam how about I show you around our residence while Carina catches up with Sarah?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me Chuck. I guess I'll see you in a while," and she gives Carina a peck on the lips before leaving on the tour.

"Damn Sarah the CIA really hooked you up with this place! I've been in some nice places before but this place is just incredible."

"It's not the CIA's place Carina, it's ours. But that's another story for another day. We can't believe the change in you since the last time we worked together."

"The Change in me?" Carina said incredulously, "We've already talked enough about me. What I want to know is what happened to you? You are nowhere near the same person I knew years ago."

"Chuck with a side order of Gabriel. I knew there was something about Chuck I couldn't resist almost as soon as I met him. After the first year of working with him I knew I was in love with him but because of the," making air quotes, "rules" I was afraid to let him get close. Then one day we go on a mission and it goes pear shaped in a hurry. It's how we met Gabriel and Sirella. These guys come in looking for our mark and all hell breaks loose. In the blink of an eye the floor is covered with dead bodies and blood. Gabriel and Sirella dispatched them like it was nothing."

"I bet they never fired a shot did they?" questioned Carina.

"Not a one, anyway back to my story. A couple of days later we got a chance to meet them in person. When I found out they were married I almost lost it. I started to think that if these two super agents, as Chuck called them, could be married and work together then why couldn't I date Chuck."

"Your story sounds similar to mine and Sam's."

"Carina are you going to let me finish sometime today?"

"Carry on," was said with a giggle.

"Thank you. We had this big meeting with Beckman where she gave us permission to date and get married if we wanted. The only stipulation was Chuck had to become an agent first. That's when he joined the CIA. Stubborn as I was at the time I still kept part of me closed off to Chuck and the outside world. I was still the scared and insecure about how Chuck would feel about me if he knew the truth about the things I had done in the past." Sarah paused to accept a glass of champagne from a passing server and took a drink before continuing on.

"Gabriel made Chuck flash on some of my old mission files. When he got done he wrapped me in a hug and said he would love me no matter what my past was like. I still wasn't where I am today. Part of me was still hanging on to the thought that I had to protect Chuck. Then there was the mission where we rescued you and the professor. Chuck was a machine during it. Everything we taught him he did with precision and professionalism."

"So that was the final thing that brought you to how you are today?"

"No I still wasn't there yet. I was sitting in the Jacuzzi drinking a glass of wine relaxing when it hit me. Gabriel and Sirella are married and let the world know it. They are the best agents I ever had the pleasure to meet. Then there is you and Sam, another couple in a relationship that's not afraid to let people know how they feel. But the glue that cemented it all was watching Beckman and Jennifer together. The woman I thought was a cold hearted bitch was actually a loving and caring person. Do you know how much it freaked me out to know that Beckman has been in a relationship with the same woman for over twenty years?"

"Whoa whoa, back up the bus Sarah and explain the last bit to me. I don't think I heard you correctly, Beckman is in a relationship with a woman."

"Yes Carina she is. A very lovely woman as a matter of fact but that's beside the point. The thing I am trying to say is that everything I just told you made me realize that even though I am a spy I can still have a normal relationship. That only my stupid insecurities can cause the best thing in my life to be taken away from me. I decided to live in the moment and enjoy each day like it could be my last. Chuck has been like that since I got here. He enjoyed each moment he spent with me believing that it could be our last. How could I keep resisting that?"

"You can't Sarah and I am so happy you finally came around to our way of thinking. Well not fully around to our way of thinking because you are with Chuck, but I can forgive you for that." Carina embraced her friend in a hug. Carina's smile widened as she saw Sam and Chuck approaching them.

"Well babe what did you think of the place?" Carina asked.

"This place is incredible. Chuck explained it has been completely restored to its original condition. It truly is a wonderful example of French design."

"Since we still have time would you care to explain what you meant when you said it was yours and not the CIA's?"

Sarah and Chuck took turns explaining to the couple how they had acquired the residence and all the other perks they now enjoyed. As they were finishing up the explanation the intra house phone rang and Chuck answered it.

"Hello."

"The Limo bringing the General and Jennifer is about ten minutes out. I'm going to go meet them at the door and escort them in personally," supplied Casey.

"Thanks for the heads up Casey join you in a minute."

"See you in a bit Chuck."

"Looks like you will get meet Diane's fiancée sooner than I thought. The General will be here shortly so we have to go meet her. Why don't Carina and Sam go to the pavilion and get something to eat while we get the General." And the other couple left the room.

"Sarah in case I haven't told you yet you look beautiful tonight, well better than beautiful actually more like gorgeous. I'm actually speechless if you want to know the truth. Ah heck I'm babbling again aren't I?"

"Yeah you are Chuck but it makes me feel special just the same." She said as she began fiddling with his tie making it perfect. "We've been married for a while now and I'm just thankful I still have this affect on you. Here is a little secret for you most men can wear a pair of jeans and a shirt and look good. For a man to be able to wear a tuxedo and do it well, that takes a special type of man. You Chuck Bartowski are that man." She finished her little pep talk and gave each of his lapels a pat. She took his hand in hers and they went to meet the General.

In the limo Diane and Jennifer were enjoying the drive to Chuck and Sarah's residence. They had arrived at the airport earlier that afternoon and were treated to an aerial tour of Philadelphia courtesy of the Bartowskis. The limo pulled into the long drive and Jennifer almost jumped out of her seat in the limo as they approached the residence.

"Holy crap Di look at that house!" Jennifer said in a clearly excited voice as she pointed out the window.

"I told them to get a house reflecting Chuck's wealth and judging by the size of that place I guess they did."

"Di it's huge! No wonder they told us we could stay here after the party. That place must have fifteen bedrooms. Man I wonder what the inside looks like!"

"Jen will you take it easy you'll get to see it soon enough" Diane said as she put her arm around Jennifer in an attempt to calm her down. The limo was coming to a halt in front of the door. Instantly a valet opens the door and takes Jennifer's hand helping her out. When Jennifer was out of the limo and standing off to side the valet assisted Diane out of the limo.

"Hello Chuck, Sarah and Casey nice place you have here. When can I get a tour?" asked Jennifer.

"Hello Jennifer nice to see you again. I'll be giving you a short tour on the way to the spa to get you and Diane ready. Do you require assistance with your bags?" asked Sarah.

"Sure if it's not too much trouble that would be great! I don't want to carry our bags all over the mansion while I get ready."

"Can we just get going Jennifer? I'm sure the bags will be taken care of," said Diane.

"Show us the way Sarah so we can get this party started," exclaimed Jennifer.

"You'll have to excuse her she doesn't get out much," huffed Diane.

"Whose fault is that Diane? We go to all those stuffy military balls and things but we never get to go to a gala like this. This is just like wow. We can be ourselves here. We won't have to hide about who we are tonight."

"Lead the way Sarah, her lordship has spoken," said Diane as she made a mocking bow at her girlfriend.

Many of the guests had arrived and were spread throughout the residence or on it grounds. Several men had abandoned their wives in favor of the Billiard Room, several women had gathered in the conservatory thankful that their husbands had decided to play pool giving them time to catch up. Most of the guests had gathered under the pavilion listening to the band play and partaking of the food that was being served. Chuck and Sarah had come out of the main living room when they were stopped dead in their tracks.

"Gen…Diane you look…ah…wow very different," Chuck fumbled over his words.

"She cleans up well doesn't she," countered Jennifer.

Diane was standing before them wearing a dark blue empire cut dress that fell just below her knees. The strict bun she normally wore was gone. Her hair was loosely curled and hung just below her shoulders at the same time framing her face. Her makeup was done to accentuate her features not hide them. The new look seemed to take years away from Diane's overall appearance.

Jennifer was just as stunning. Despite being only two years younger than Diane she could easily pass for someone in their thirties. She was wearing a floor length sleeveless a-line dress in a navy blue. Her long brown hair was done up in a French twist. The front of the dress was low enough to show a hint of cleavage but nothing more. Around her neck she wore a small pearl drop and diamond pendent. A thin gold bracelet finished off her look.

"I'll take that as a compliment Chuck. Before we eat I'd like to shock the other member of your team. Care to show me where John is?" Diane said this while looping her arm around her girlfriend's waist.

"Please follow us and we will take you to him." They made their way to the Grand Reception Hall pausing to acquire some champagne and hors d'oeuvres from a passing hostess. As they neared the Grand Reception Hall the nuance and expressive sounds of Chopin could be heard being played on the Steinway concert grand piano. They found Casey sitting at a table chatting with three men also dressed in suits.

Diane walked up behind Casey and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Casey turned around and politely looked up and asked, "Can I help you Ma'am?"

"John after all the years we've know each other I'm surprised you don't recognize me."

No sooner had the General started talking that Casey recognized the voice and shot straight to his feet. Unfortunately for him the back of his knees caught the chair and sent it flying backwards just missing the General. Casey's reaction started a chain reaction of laughter from the four people that were standing behind him.

"Ma'am I'm sorry I didn't recognize you right away," Casey tried to explain.

"Relax John; Jennifer almost had to pick Chuck's jaw up off the ground when he saw me. I think I got the desired results. Now I would love to dance with my girl so if you'd excuse us were going to head out to the expanse you call a yard. I would like to discuss this house later when we have some more time."

On the way to the pavilion Sarah and Chuck introduced Diane and Jennifer to several of the business acquaintances they had made during the past couple of months. Along the way the group picked up Chuck's sister and boy friend. They found an open table and sat down. In short order they had their meals of filet mignon and lobster tails, creamed peas and scallions. There were various side dishes to choose from as well. While they were eating they were joined by one of Chuck's business partners from California Toney and Blair Jones.

"Chuck and Sarah thank you for asking us to come. We've had a wonderful time so far," said Tony. "I have some good news for you. With the money you invested I was able to increase our output. I was able to secure some very lucrative multiyear contracts. So from what I can tell your percentage is about 3 million dollars. My accountant will be calling yours to arrange the funds transfer."

Chuck could only stare at Tony and agree. _Since when did I get an accountant?_

"But enough business for tonight, may I have a dance with your lovely wife?"

"That Tony is up to her," Chuck said motioning to Sarah.

"I would love to dance with you, shall we?" Tony reached out his hand helping Sarah up and led her out on the dance floor. Chuck held out his hand towards Blair motioning towards the dance floor where Tony and Sarah had staked out a section of the dance floor. Diane and Jennifer not to be outdone joined the foursome in a waltz. Chuck and Tony ended up dancing with all four women as they periodically switched partners. Chuck was surprised to find out Diane was a very accomplished dancer as was Jennifer.

Chuck and Sarah excused themselves from the tables to begin another round of mingling with the guests. This was the part they hated the most. Every time they talked to one of the guests it turned into business. By the end of the night Chuck and Sarah were surprised at how much his investments were paying off. They were both wondering where all this supposed money was. But they pushed it aside as they made their rounds.

Finally the evening was drawing to a close and most of the guests had departed after a night of dining and dancing. Gabriel and Sirella showed up accompanied by another woman they had never met before.

"Chuck and Sarah, I'm sorry but I need you two for about an hour or so tonight. We will need Diane as well for this. Before you ask it's not a mission but it is mission related" began Gabriel.

"Most of the guests have left already so we should have some time. Casey can handle getting the rest on their way and the clean up started. Let's go to your conference room and knock this out." The command tone used by Gabriel used left little room for argument. They made the short trip to the conference room and began to meeting.

"The woman with me tonight is Christa. She is the one that's been handling you finances as your accountant slash investment broker. She was asking me earlier tonight when she would get a chance to speak with you. Somehow you getting to meet her fell through the cracks."

Sarah was now as confused as Chuck so she began to speak "What do you mean we have an accountant? She looks kind of young."

"I can assure you she is very competent at her job. She may be young but she is really good at investing money and making it work for you," Sirella added on.

"What I don't understand about any of this is what money of mine we are talking about," questioned Chuck.

"This is where I come in" Diane started her part of the explanation "I was allotted a certain amount of money for this mission's capitol. When the mission is over I am required to return the unused portion. The government is technically not supposed to invest in private businesses like you are doing. So we _loaned you the money interest free._ As far as the government is concerned what you make you keep."

"So I was hired to watch over the investments you were making and advise you if I thought you were out in left field with any of them," Christa added in. "So far you have done very well. If your investments continue at the current rate you will have almost doubled your starting funds. As Diane just said all that money is yours. In addition I make some investments on my own mostly stocks and bonds."

"I follow the markets pretty closely. I invested your money in what I like to call short term high yield. It's a stock I see the potential to go up or down quickly," Christa explained. "This is the basics on what I do. For an example ill use easy numbers like five dollars a share. I buy one thousand shares for five thousand dollars. I set a limit on how high or low before I sell. If it goes up to say seven dollars I sell. You just made two thousand dollars if it goes down on I sell you lose one thousand. But the rewards are higher," Christa pauses for a second to take a drink. "I pick companies that won't be swayed too much by the investments so when I sell it doesn't tank the business."

"Ok so you have been investing money for us in the market and other places," stated Chuck who appeared somewhat shaken by the news. "Approximately how much are we worth?"

"Give or take a couple hundred thousand about twelve and a half million in cash and more than that when you ad in the percentage of the companies you are part owner in," Christa stated.

"Wait one minute…Chuck and I are worth twelve million dollars? You have got to be kidding me." It was Sarah's turn to be awed by what was being said. _No amount of training can prepare you for finding out you have a net worth over twelve million dollars. _

"I'm not Sarah. Mr. Jones called me the other day. You invested a million dollars as part of the cover operation you were on. It enabled him to purchase some much needed equipment. He got some very big contracts he couldn't have gotten without your money. The contract you signed with him was for a ten percent share in his company. You made 3 million dollars alone on that deal. When his business increases as it should, you will make more and more off the deal. He already has more deals in the works for far greater amounts."

"So why has it taken so long for you to contact us Christa?" asked Chuck.

"You fell through the cracks as Gabriel said. I thought you were a mythical person the government invented for some reason so I didn't give it much thought, I just made investments. The last week Gabriel asked me for your financial report and here I am."

"It appears we have a lot to discuss Christa so I would like to set up a meeting here later next week when you will have time to go over all details with us."

"I'll call you on a couple days to set it up Sarah. It's late and I know you guys must be tired so I think I'll head out. Gabriel and Sirella could you give me a lift since you did bring me here?"

"No problem we were just waiting for you to finish. We can go at any time." Sirella answered.

With the meeting concluded the couples left the conference room and went their separate ways to get some much needed rest. For Chuck and Sarah the upcoming week promised to be full of more surprises. For the first time in a couple of months there were no dangerous missions coming up, dinners or parties. Sarah and Chuck could just be themselves for a while and enjoy the life they had started to grow accustom to.


	14. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The weeks that followed the party flew by pretty fast for Chuck and Sarah. Nothing had turned up from the leads they had been following. Each day was spent primarily training and working out. As the weather began to warm up Sarah decided to include swimming in Chucks training. Not that Chuck minded that much Sarah looked sexy as heck in her racing suit. They had just finished their laps when the phone rang.

Chuck picked up the phone in the pavilion and answered it, "Hello?"

"Chuck, its Diane I have a small matter to discuss with you. When would be a good time?"

"Hey Diane, we just finished doing our laps so I think we can be ready inside the hour. Will you be in the office today or should I contact you at home?"

"At the office will be fine Chuck I'll wait for your call. Tell Sarah I said hi and I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you soon." Chuck hung up the phone and turned to look at his wife. Sarah tossed him a towel and finished wrapping her hair in another. "We need to get dressed and call the General. Something came up and she needs to speak with us."

"I wonder why she called on the house phone instead of our cells?"

"It could be that fact we left our phones in the room when we got ready for our swim."

"Good thing we have phones all over this place isn't it?"

"I'm surprised you are taking the General not being able to get a hold of us on our cells so well."

"What's there to worry about? Every room has a phone in it and the conference room is only a few minutes away no matter where we are in the residence. We have the secure cells with us whenever we leave the house so what's to worry about? It's not like she tells us what the missions are over the phone anyway," concluded Sarah.

"That's true," said Chuck as they walked hand in hand towards the house. "I'm still getting used to the new you."

"The new me so you didn't like the old me," questioned Sarah.

"I fell in love with the old you, the new you doesn't let little things like what just happened bother you. I'm glad about that. You are enjoying life so much more now than you did before."

"Well I have you and a whole host of other people to thank for that." Sarah pulled Chuck towards her and planted a tender and loving kiss on his lips. He responded in kind and they soon found themselves in a very heated embrace. "I would love to continue with this but we do have a call to make. Then maybe after it's over we can continue it."

"You drive a hard bargain Mrs. Bartowski. Let's get this over with so we can move on to more important things," Chuck said while wiggling his eyebrows in a seductive manner.

A short while later they put through the call to the General. She answered a few seconds after the call was placed.

"Chuck and Sarah your team has been assigned a mission by the President. Somehow a CIA analyst pieced together some intel that suggests that a terrorist group is planning something in New Orleans. I have met this person and they are an idiot." Beckman shakes her head for added emphasis. "But they made enough noise that it made its way to the President. So guess where you two are headed?"

"Really General? I wanted to go there someday," stated Chuck.

"Well you're getting the chance to go now. There is an NSA facility in New Orleans where you will meet Agent Simpson. He will be your liaison there between the NSA and local law enforcement. Your point of contact with the police will be Captain Dennis LeFlure, of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office, a former agent who has helped us a time or two. Gabriel and Sirella, plus a few of his people will be going along with you. If there are no questions I'll leave you two to get ready," Beckman ends the call.

"Well let's get to packing. It's going to be hot and humid down there so pack lots of light weight clothes," suggests Sarah.

"You go on and get started with the packing while I get a hold of Casey. I'll make sure the Bell is ready to take us to the airport. Then we'll use the jet to get us to New Orleans. Casey can make the ground transportation plans once we are in the air."

"I'll see you in a bit," Sarah gives Chuck a small peck on the lips as they go their separate ways.

They got to their hotel and checked in. Due to their late arrival they would not be able to set up a meeting with Agent Simpson and Captain LeFlure until the following day.

Chuck and Sarah got themselves ready for the meeting first thing the next day. Sarah chose a dark blue suit with light blue pinstripes and a white shirt. She finished off her ensemble with a pair of black Bocca loafers. Chuck selected a black suit with a white shirt with dark grey tie and dress shoes. They met Casey in the lobby of the hotel and headed to the FBI Building.

The NSA office was located in the FBI Building near the Superdome in New Orleans. The FBI building resembled most of the other government buildings they had seen before. The first floor of the building was made of a salmon color brick while the floors above it were constructed mostly of red bricks with the salmon color bricks between the floors. The front entry way housed a large double door and arch way. Inside the lobby was open with a circular reception desk centered in the middle of the room. The tiled floors were polished to a high gloss that was expected in most government buildings.

When they arrived at the reception desk Casey began speaking to the receptionist, "Ma'am I am Agent Casey of the NSA, we're here for a meeting with the NSA," at the same time showing his NSA ID badge while motioning to Chuck and Sarah to do the same.

"Let me just call up and let them know you are here. Their offices are located on the fourth floor; I can get one of our Agents to show you to the elevators." There was a slight wait while the receptionist called for an escort then called the NSA to inform them of Casey's arrival. An FBI agent walked up to the desk at almost the same time the receptionist finished with her call.

"Agent Casey the NSA is expecting you there will be an Agent Simpson will be waiting for you when you arrive. Agent Smith here will show you to the elevators"

"Thank you ma'am"

Agent Smith led them down the highly polished hallway to the elevator bank. Once they had loaded in the elevator Smith departed as the doors closed. When the elevator began its upward journey Chuck asked a question that had been on his mind since they entered the FBI building.

"Why don't our CIA and NSA badges get us access here? Shouldn't the fact that we have clearances be enough?"

"For the most part no they don't. You have heard Sarah and I say 'need to know' on many occasions and this is an example. We may have the clearances to see the information by we don't have the need to know it. So we are denied access to it. Say they asked us to help on a case they were working on then we would have the need to know and they would provide us with the information," Casey explained to Chuck.

"Thanks for the info Casey." The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened

Agent Simpson met them as they exited the elevator.

"Agent Carmichael and Casey" Agent Simpson said as he was shaking each of their hands. When he got to Sarah he let his eyes drift down towards her chest and lingered there as he extended his hand. He smiled warmly at Sarah and continued to hold her hand as he spoke, "This is Captain LeFlure of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office. He will be working with us on this operation under your supervision of course."

Sarah felt something she had not felt in a while, embarrassment. It now bothered her that she was being checked out in such a lewd manner. It had been a normal thing not too long ago, in the time she had labeled BG, Before Gabriel. It was common place for her to entice men to look at her by the way she dressed. All that seemed like a lifetime ago. For her it was, she is now in the next phase of her life. Now she just felt degraded by the look she got from Agent Simpson. She turned to look at her husband who was not paying attention to visual assault she was receiving. She gave him a sharp elbow to his ribs to get his attention. Chuck just gave her a stupid look in return.

"We will talk about this later," she hissed in his ear.

"Talk about what Sarah?" he said as quietly as he could.

"You're so dense sometimes. How can you be so damn smart and stupid at the same time?"

Chuck reached out to take her hand but she pulled hers back as if she was burned and hissed at him again, that's all it took for chuck to realize he screwed up, _what the hell did I do?_

They headed down the hall to the conference room where they would receive the information that had been sent ahead by General Beckman. The tension that was now radiating between the couple could be felt by everyone present. After they took up their seats Agent Simpson started the briefing by pulling three pictures on the large HD screen mounted on the wall at the head of the table. The faces of three African American men were displayed.

"The man on the left is Jeff Johnson age thirty five, in the middle is his brother Tom age thirty two and the right is Tyrone Dupre age forty, a know associate of both men. They are all from the lower ninth ward."

"Jeff and Tom each served a six month term in Orleans Parish Prison for looting and simple battery during the aftermath of Katrina. Tyrone did a six year stint in Angola for armed robbery. They are minor players for the time being. They are associated with this man," the screen changed to show a man of Eastern European descent, "Vladimir Petroski age forty five from Slovakia. He is heavily invested Lukoil a Russian company."

Sarah and Casey looked over to Chuck with expectant eyes hoping he had flashed on Petroski. Chuck just shrugged his shoulders and gave them a little shake of his head indicating he did not flash.

"The first three men are his muscle. They double as his chauffer and body guards. From what we know they have no formal training mostly using their size to intimidate people."

"That's very good to know Agent Simpson but is that all you have for us. That little bit of information warranted us coming down here on such short notice?" Casey practically growled the last part. It took Chuck and Sarah by surprise; they hadn't heard a grunt or growl from Casey in over six months. "Tomorrow some more of our team will be here and our team lead for this mission will rip you a new asshole if you don't give us more information than this. We are done here." As soon as Casey finishes up his tirade he gets up and storms out of the room.

Sarah and Chuck hurry to follow Casey after his quick departure and Chuck begins to talk "What is his problem Sarah? He has.."

"Now's not the time Chuck, if you can't figure out what's wrong with him I'm not going to tell you." And she sped up her walk in an effort to find Casey.

The ride back to the hotel was spent in complete silence. Not the companionable silence their rides normally had, this ride was so thick with tension that Chuck swore he could cut it with a knife. When they arrived at the hotel Sarah exited the car as soon as it came to a complete stop. Chuck attempted to follow but was held back by Casey. Chuck was so shocked by Casey's action it took several seconds before he could speak, "What the hell is wrong with you Casey?"

"It's not me you Moron, it's you!"

"Me! What did I do?"

"It's what you didn't do. Simpson was practically stripping Sarah naked with his eyes earlier and you didn't do or say a damn thing."

"I didn't notice anything."

"And that's the problem Chuck, you should have." Casey paused for a few seconds; he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. _Breathe in, hold it, slowly exhale, think calm thoughts._ "Chuck you spend so much time around Sarah that probably didn't show much she has changed. Up until about six months ago it probably wouldn't have bothered Sarah either, but things are different now. I noticed it right away, that is your job not mine. Observe her like you would a mark. See what makes her tense up or makes her uneasy. She stiffened up a bit when Simpson stared at her. You need to pay attention and make this right."

"Shit I'm in trouble aren't I?"

"Just a little bit, you need to talk it out listen to what she has to say. When you were dating you knew she liked her burgers medium rare with red onions so get off your ass and do it again."

"Pickles Casey, not red onions" Chuck shakes Casey's hand almost runs to the door of the hotel.

Chuck gets to the room and for the first time in as long as he can remember he is at a loss for words. He slowly opens the door and peeks inside. The sight that greets him causes an intense pain in his chest. Sarah was sitting at the table staring out the window, and he can hear small sobs coming from her direction. He approaches cautiously and not getting to close begins to speak in a soft voice, "Sarah.." but before he could say anything else she cuts him off.

"Sorry for what Chuck?" she yelled never turning away from the window.

"For being an insensitive ass, for not seeing what you were going through when the jerk was staring at you." Sarah turned slightly towards Chuck and he could see that her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

With those words Sarah's hurt and anger had begun to fade. "I said it earlier today; you are the stupidest smart man I know. I was hurt today Chuck, not by Simpson leering at me, but by you not saying anything to him. You're my husband for cripes sake it's your job to notice things like that."

"I know sorry isn't good enough for what I failed to notice today. I know this will not be my best excuse but this is a new side of you I have never seen before. I'm used to the Sarah that never cared how men looked at her, not the one that is sitting in front of me now."

"So you would rather have the old ice bitch Sarah back. Is that what you want? It sure sounded like that to me!" Sarah's anger was beginning to surface again.

"No no not at all," Chuck takes a breath and begins to wander around the room. "I'm not doing this well am I?"

"No Chuck you're not."

"Please let me finish before you say anything." Sarah gives him a small nod of her head and Chuck continues on. "When we first met I had to watch you flirt with men to do your job. I hated every minute of watching you do it. Then over time I got used to seeing you do it. I had a good friend point out to me that before we even dated I knew how you liked you burgers. It's time I got back to being that Chuck Bartowski again. I used to pay attention to every little thing about you. Somehow that got away from me over the past couple of months. But if you are willing to work with me I know I can get back to being that Chuck again." Chuck had worked his way over to Sarah and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Something happened to me that has never happened to me before. When that creep started undressing me with his eyes I felt violated. And I got mad because you weren't there for me. But I do understand what you are saying about how it was in the past. If you can accept the new me like you did the old me, I can help you get back to who you want to be."

"That sounds like a very good idea to me"

"I'm not completely ok right now but I am glad we had this talk. I love you Chuck."

"I love you to Sarah. What do you say we go somewhere nice to eat tonight? The new Sarah and the old Chuck just to relax and clear our heads before the mission really gets underway?"

"I think we could use a night out where we can both be ourselves. Do you have any ideas where we should go?"

"You always hear about the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. How about I call Captain LeFlure and ask him where we should go. He's a local guy so he should know all the good places to go and what to wear."

"I'm not all that hungry Chuck but I could really use a coffee. I need to freshen up and change into something more comfortable." She got up from the table and approached Chuck who raised his arms slightly inviting her in for a hug. She closed the gap and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close letting his strong arms embrace her back. They stood there motionless for several minutes enjoying the feeling of comfort they got from each other. Sarah was the first to break the hug by pushing Chuck away and looking into his eyes. She could see the love he had for her looking back at her through his chocolate orbs. She stood on her toes and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before heading to the bathroom to get ready.

Chuck called LeFlure as soon as Sarah left the room and within minutes had several places to choose from. It wasn't long before Sarah returned to the room. She was dressed in white Capri's with a light blue tank top and matching slip on sandals. She carried a small hand bag as well.

"I called LeFlure and he recommended a couple places we should try. I'm not in the mood for anything heavy right now, so how does the Café du Monde sound for coffee and a light meal then afterwards we can relax to some music at the Preservation Hall?"

"You should go change so we can get there before it gets late. We have to meet Gabriel's team at the airport in the morning." Chuck grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom to clean up and change his clothes. He reappeared about ten minutes later wearing a pair of kaki Chinos with a dark blue Polo shirt that had been left un tucked and a pair of old Chucks.

Sarah immediately noticed his footwear and rolled hers eyes. It had been several months since his once favorite footwear had made an appearance. Chuck noticed the roll of her eyes right away and commented on it.

"It figures you'd notice my feet first," he said with a smile. "It's been ages since I've had a chance to wear them."

"Come on you big goof were burning daylight standing here." She put her arm his waist making sure to press on the small of his back.

"Yes it's there," Chuck said referring to the Glock 22 he carried when not on missions. He glanced over at his wife who patted her hand bag in response to the unasked question. It was a system they had worked out several months ago when Sarah finally agreed with Casey that Chuck should be armed at all times like they were. She thought back to the day that she made the agreement.

"_Sarah we need to talk. It's about your husband."_

"_What did he do now Casey?"_

"_It's time Sarah."_

"_Time for what?" I know where this is headed_

"_Don't play coy with me. Your boy is a fully fledged Agent and has been for a while. He deserves to be treated like one."_

"_We do treat him like an agent."_

"_He needs to carry at all times just like us. I'm just going to say this once so listen good. I don't know how Chuck does it but despite everything he is pretty much the same nerd he always was. He doesn't need us hovering all over him like we did before. We've seen him in action several times now. I have trusted you to have my back for a long time, and now I'm ready to add Chuck to that list. Hell," Casey takes a long slow breath and holds it for a second before continuing, "when I overheard you tell him he could do anything he wanted, that he was that guy, I almost laughed. You were right he has done everything and he is that guy."_

"_I've been around a long time and seen a lot of agents; besides you there aren't many that are better than Chuck is. And given time I believe he will be better than both of us. It's time to treat him like it. It would kill him if something happened to you because he couldn't defend you. Don't let that happen, to either of you." And Casey turned and walked away. _

They arrived at the Café du Monde in very little time. As they approached it they noticed the numerous tables set up outside the building nestled closely together under an awning. Just as LeFlure said, it was packed with customers.

"LeFlure told me several interesting facts about this place. It is best known for its café au lait and its French-style beignets. In keeping with the New Orleans style, the coffee is blended with chicory. He said it gives it a little added flavor. It's open year round unless a hurricane happens to pass close by."

"Wow I get a beignet and a history lesson and them same time. You sure know how to impress a woman Mr. Bartowski."

"Only the best for you Mrs. Bartowski. I'm going to try one of the fruit filled beignets and a plain coffee. What are you going to have Sarah?"

"I think I'll have the same as you. I'm still not feeling my best after the events of today but it's getting better."

The couple was soon seated at one of the outside tables enjoying their coffee and beignets. The atmosphere was between the two was less strained than it had been earlier in the day but some tension still remained. They decided the best course of action for them at this point would be to return to the room and have a nice long rational talk about the events of the day. By the end of the night Sarah and Chuck had worked out most of the issues from the day and formulated a plan on how to keep it from happening again.

"I know today was hard on you Sarah and I think I finally figured why I acted the way I did. I have spent the last several months training my ass off because I want you to be proud of me. As a spy I mean, in trying to be a great spy I lost track of what you really should be proud of me for. And that's for being a good husband. When all is said and done and we have moved on from the life of espionage and intrigue we will still have each other and that's the most important thing."

"And I'm sorry as well Chuck for letting today affect me the way it did. I'm still not used to handling all these new feelings and emotions that you have brought out. It will take a lot more than a couple months for me to push aside all those years of training and suppressing of my emotions. But I have no doubt that together we can make it work."

The day of hell as it would later be called was finally over and the couple retired for the night secure in the knowledge that each of them would put as much effort into their marriage as they did in being the best spies the government has.

The next day was clear and sunny outside as well as inside the room. The talk and subsequent good night sleep worked wonders for Sarah's attitude. So much so she woke Chuck up in a very intimate way then joining him in the shower for round two. After finishing up in the shower and getting dressed more comfortably than the day before. Chuck was wearing a pair of relaxed fit jeans and a black tee-shirt and sneakers. With eight months of intense training under his belt Chuck was now filling out his clothes like never before. The tee-shirt was tight against his chest, almost like it had been painted on. The sleeves of the shirt were tight around his upper arms. Each time he moved his arms the muscles could be seen getting taut and relaxing. Sarah was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a dark blue tank top she finished off her look with a pair of walking shoes. Similar to Chucks retiring of his chucks, Sarah for the most part retired her heels in favor of more sensible styles of footwear.

They headed to Louis Armstrong Airport to pick up Gabriel and Sirella. It had been decided that the rest of Gabriel's team would be supplying its own transportation to the FBI building. Sirella the voice of reason made the suggestion that the team break up and stay at different hotels around the area. Her rational was simple, with six smoking hot women staying in the same hotel and hanging out together in the bar each night the men would be flocking to the hotel in an effort score a hot date for the evening. Gabriel's team consisted of himself, Sirella, Carina, Samantha, Liz and Cam.

The sight that greeted anyone outside the FBI building would have them talking about it for years to come. Two men walking with an air of superiority about them their muscles rippling with each step they took. The women with them were exceedingly beautiful. They were led by a tall brunette whose long brown hair extended well below her backside. Beside her walked a striking blonde who stood about an inch shorter. The blonde's hair fell to just below her shoulders. Behind them was a pair of red heads who could be best described as exotic walking in lockstep with each other. One of the women was almost six inches taller than the other and their fiery red hair fell to the middle of their backs. The last two women in the group were both blondes with hair that reached the small of their backs. All six of the women were dressed similarly to each other in one style jean or another and tank tops.

The arrival at the FBI building went much smoother than it had before. They were met at the reception desk and led directly to the NSA offices. The team was taken to a medium sized conference room and asked to be seated while they waited for Simpson to arrive. The room was sparsely decorated with just a few pictures mounted on the wall. On the wall at the foot of the table was a fifty inch HD TV that was used for displaying information during a briefing. To either side of the TV were the flags of the United States and the NSA. The maple conference table that took up the better part of the room was a fifteen feet long and three feet wide. On each side of the table were five high back leather chairs. An eleventh larger leather chair was at the head of the table.

Casey was already seated on the far side of the table having arrived while Chuck and Sarah were picking up the other members of the team. Sarah and Chuck sat next to Casey and were joined by Carina and Sam. On the other side of the table Gabriel sat at the seat next to the head chair where he was joined by Sirella, Cam and Liz. Simpson entered shortly after the others had been seated. His eyes almost popped out of his head. He had never seen a group of more beautiful women in his life. His thoughts immediately went to which one he could get into bed the fastest.

"We can just dispense with the formalities for the remainder of your time here but if any of you ladies would like a tour of the city later tonight I would be glad to accompany you." He was just about to continue on when Chuck spoke up.

"Agent Simpson I think your invitation to these ladies is unprofessional in this setting. If you can't control yourself I will be forced to inform your supervisor of your unprofessional behavior."

"My apologies ladies," Simpson began with tinge of anger in his voice "through tireless work over night by myself and my analysts we managed to come up with a new player in the game." He clicked the remote and the TV turned on and some grainy black and white pictures came up.

"This man is Timothy Webber an associate of Petroski. He is also heavily invested in Lukoil and some other foreign oil companies." While he was speaking eight sets of eyes were focused on Chuck. He gave a small nod of his head signaling that he had flashed on Webber. "He has been trying to acquire more drilling rights for Lukoil in the gulf. So far he has been unable to get any approved. He has close to a billion dollars in investors' funds tied up in the project. The one thing that has my people stymied is the fact that he has quite a few friends that are beneath his social standing." He pressed the remote again and the screen changed and the faces of three men were displayed.

"These men were seen with Webber two nights ago leaving Brenda's gentlemen's club with a couple of the dancers. They were also seen with Petroski on several occasions leaving the same club. What we can't figure out is what the connection is between these three men and our two suspects."

"Simpson if we can have all the information your team has gathered I can have my people run it through our data bases and see what we can come up with," Gabriel offered while looking at Chuck who returned his look with a nod.

"I'm sorry agent.." Simpson paused waited for Gabriel to state his name.

"Thanatos, agent Simpson" was the icy reply he received. The three members of team Bartowski registered shock while Sirella just nodded her head in approval. Gabriel was making a tactical move by informing the lesser agent of his true code name. To the rest of the world Thanatos was dead and gone and the fact was widely known in the intelligence communities. There were two possible scenarios about to occur, the first one would prove that Simpson was a valuable asset, the second would cement the fact that he was just another agent out to make a name for himself.

"Agent Thanatos I appreciate the offer but I have come up with plan that may take longer but in the end will provide us with first hand information. We already know that both Petroski and Webber frequent Brenda's so we send in a few female agents posing as erotic dancers. We have a room full of gorgeous female agents we can choose from for this assignment. The agents we send will pay special attention to Petroski and Webber along with their accomplices. They will then use whatever means necessary to get the information we need. They can relay the information to us via secure email."

Chuck started to rise out of his chair in defense of his wife and the other women at the table. Before he could get his butt out of the chair, Gabriel had already left his and had Simpson pinned to the wall. His movement was quick and fluid similar to a jungle cat as it leaps on its prey. Gabriel's hand was holding a fistful of Simpson's jacket pulling it tight around his chest and he was growling a low deep growl that put a chill in the air. He lifted Simpson off the ground until feet hung uselessly below. Simpson's first instinct was to break the hold and when he tried Gabriel crushed him against the wall forcing most of the air out of his lungs. Simpson's hands flew to Gabriel's wrist in an attempt to ease the pressure on his chest.

Sirella had seen the look her husband had on his face one time before. It was when Gabriel had fought Kahless the Unforgettable on Unimatrix zero one. She knew that in this very moment Gabriel had all his Borg systems working at their maximum levels. Extra nanoprobes were being released into his system to stimulate his adrenal system forcing as much adrenalin as possible into his blood. Others were being released to help carry oxygen to the parts of his body that would require it. More nanoprobes would be waiting to repair any damage done to his body. In his effort to become as much of a Klingon as possible he had his cortical node programmed to respond the same stimuli that full Klingons did. The one thing that could bring a Klingon out of battle lust was the scent or sound of their mate.

Sirella did the only thing she could think of to bring her husband back, she growled a low throaty sensual growl she had used many times to lure her mate to bed.

Gabriel's hearing picked up on the growl and his mind began to clear slightly. He turned toward the growl and looked into the face of his. Sirella was now standing up walking towards him slowly, much the same way a vet approaches a wounded animal, and she began to speak in a language that team Bartowski had heard just once before at the party where they first met. She kept the growl in her tone she spoke softly, _"Gabriel, son of William, protector and warrior of the Empire, mate to Sirella hear my voice and let it guide you back from the battle lust."_

Gabriel's eyes closed for a brief second and he began to relax. He began the process of slowing down his Borg systems to the point where he could function normally again. After several long seconds that seemed to last for hours he spoke in a very deliberate manner never letting up on the pressure on Simpson.

"Get General Beckman on the comm. Link now." He turned to face Simpson who by now had started to turn a nice shade of blue, "you made two huge mistakes here today the first one was trying to fool me into thinking you are someone you are not. Agent Thanatos has been dead for a long time, all good operatives know that. The second was telling me you thought my wife, along with these other women are of no better use to us other than to pose as strippers." This last statement caused Simpson to struggle even more to get away. He had seen the cold and unfeeling look in the agent's eyes as he was being choked; now he knew why. Gabriel took several deep breaths and released them slowly before he continued.

"You have severely underestimated the women at this table Simpson. The group you have assembled before you are the best any agency has to offer. If you took as much time to research the names of the agents that were coming to assist you as you did in trying to get a date you would have learned several things. The first being the Carmichaels are the best agents in the CIA. Second the Carmichaels are married, Sirella is my wife, Carina and Sam are in a monogamous relationship and Liz and Cam are also married. You have insulted my wife and my friends; I normally don't stand for that and respond in my own way. For the time being I will grant you a free pass and let the General decide what to do with you."

While Gabriel was busy choking out Simpson the rest of the people in the room were franticly trying to get the General on the phone or the teleconference equipment in the room. Gabriel began to ease off Simpson a bit allowing some of the blue color to fade from Simpson's face. It took a minute but the General was finally contacted and appeared on the screen. What she saw as the connection opened was one of her field agents pinned to the wall by Gabriel.

"Gabriel release agent Simpson at once!" snapped General Beckman. Gabriel loosened his grip on Simpson as he lowered him so his feet were once again touching the floor. He did not fully release his grip on the man's jacket.

"General I apologize for my calling you on such short notice. I have a situation that needs to be rectified before this mission can begin. Simpson believes that the women in this room are his to use as he sees fit."

"What did the agent suggest that incited this situation?"

"He suggested I use my wife along with the other female agents as strippers and possibly more to gather information on our suspects. His exact words were _by any means necessary_. You know my position on how the female members of my team are not to be used. He also believes that Thanatos is alive, any agent worth his salt knows that he is dead."

General Beckman shook her head and spoke, "Gabriel could you please release the agent so we can discuss this matter without him having to fear for his life." Gabriel reluctantly released Simpson from his grasp but did remain well within is personal space. Agent Simpson, "There is a reason I sent you a read a head briefing. It clearly stated what is and is not acceptable to the team that is going to be helping you out. Did you neglect to read the information packet either out of stupidity or because you feel you are above following a simple directive?"

"Ma'am even if these women are the best their agencies have, I fail to see why these women are above using all the weapons at their disposal. Seduction is still taught at the farm is it not?" he responded while he tried to put some space between himself and Gabriel.

"General I will not allow my team to work with an agent that does not care enough to follow procedure and shows the amount of disrespect he showed you by not following orders. The bottom line General is I do not think Agent Simpson has the qualities to operate effectively with us. In addition to his complete lack of discipline he tried to get a date from the women in the room."

"Is this true Agent Simpson?" asked the General.

"Ma'am I just made a friendly offer to the women present that if they wanted I would be glad to show them around. I meant no disrespect to any of them."

"Agent Simpson has been working long and hard for a while now. I think he may be getting close to burning out. I think he needs a less strenuous position where he call cool off for a time. General I believe it is in Simpson's best interest to be reassigned somewhere else on a temporary basis so he can re-evaluate his career options. Take him out of the field for a short while and put him on a protective detail. I have read some reports that show there is a royal family that is in need of some protection from some enemies that seek to over throw their reign," Gabriel concluded his comments with a wink.

Visions of new and better assignments began dancing in Simpsons mind. _Maybe they have a hot daughter I can provide close personal protection for._

_Ok where did I put that list of code phrases he gave me a while back? _"Let me take a look real quick and see if anything fitting an agent of his stature is available," she began looking on her desk to find the sheet Gabe had given her at a prior meeting. _Ah here it is, now let me see cool got it now royal family. You are so bad. But hey better Simpson is pissed off than Gabe. "_I'm sure the Emperor would love to have an agent of Simpsons caliper watching over his family. Agent Simpson would you approve of the transfer to guard the family?"

Chuck was livid _how can they be talking about giving this jerk a choice assignment?_

Sarah was also fuming until she looked over at Sirella and saw a small smile on her lips. _if she is smiling then Gabe must have something in store for this ass._

"Yes Ma'am I would love to be on the protection detail for the Royal family. How long do I have before I report for my new assignment?"

"I'll give you a couple days to get you things in order. I will send you a packing list of items that you will be required to have during your stay. I strongly suggest that you read it and follow it this time. Pass on any information you have on this case to your 2IC" finished the General.

"Yes Ma'am I will. Can I ask how many agents I will have assigned to me?"

"It will be just you Agent Simpson. I caution you to keep a close eye on the couple's child. He has a tendency to wander away from his parents while looking for food."

"Looking for food General I don't understand? Why doesn't he eat with his parents?"

"I'm sorry Agent Simpson it seems _I forgot to read you the rest of the dossier. _You will be tasked with protecting a family of Emperor Penguins in their natural environment. You're dismissed Agent Simpson, oh and keep warm," Beckman said with a chuckle. "Well played Gabriel well played."

Gabriel wasted no time in tossing Simpson into the hallway and slamming the door. "Now that the trash has been taken out maybe we can get down to business. The information Simpson provided sheds very little light as to why we are needed here."

"Gabriel if I may interject something here," Chuck began. "I flashed on Webber. Nothing major just that he is former Navy and spent time in the Balkans. Two of Webbers associates are former Marine demolition experts. I didn't flash on them as Fulcrum but they may have some friends that are. I would suggest having the analysts here look into anybody they know. General the one thing that has me concerned with all this is the connection to the oil industry."

"Why is that Chuck?"

"I'm not sure yet, both Petroski and Webber have major investments in Lukoil. What would happen to the economy if the oil flow from the gulf was somehow interrupted or stopped all together? Other companies would have to fill in for the losses, what better way to increase your investments than to have your competition lose its production capabilities?"

"Are you saying that a major oil company is linked to Fulcrum?"

"Not at all General. What I am suggesting is maybe these two men are looking to substantially increase their wealth. They throw a couple million or more at some Fulcrum agents with a promise of more if they work with them. Fulcrum needs cash, they want cash. If a major disruption of oil happened because of a terrorist attack the members of Fulcrum that are inside the government can scream loudly that the NSA/CIA were lacking in their efforts to keep the country safe. It's a winning situation for both parties and a losing one for us."

"That's some theory you have Chuck," replied the General.

"Ma'am I learned a while ago to trust Chuck when he has these ideas. What we always forget is that before the intersect Chuck was smart. He still is except he has access to the intersect. I say we give his idea some credence." Casey added to the discussion.

"It's a better theory than the idiot agent had, which by the way wasn't much," added Sarah.

There was a knock at the conference room door that was answered by Liz. Standing there was a middle aged man wearing the typical NSA wardrobe, dark suit and tie with a white shirt.

"I'm Agent Roberts and I will be taking over for Agent Simpson. I will bring all the information we have to you as soon as it its ready. Simpson has a piss poor way of organizing his files so it will take us a day or so to get them straightened out."

"That will be fine Roberts. My team will start its investigation this afternoon. Give me a call when you have the information ready for us. You can go now Roberts." And he was shown the door.

"Now that the excitement is over let's get started," Gabriel began "I think Chuck's theory is a sound one. We just need to put all the pieces together. Casey I need you to stay here and work with NSA personnel on researching Webber and his people. Sirella you and the girls take the rest of the day off and relax. Chuck and I will be going to Brenda's to see if our friends show up. We are going to be regulars until we make contact with Webber or Petroski. Chuck and I will attempt to form a friendship with the former Marines. I will see if I can convince them they can use my skills to their benefit."

"WAIT A MINUTE" shouted Sarah, "you want to take Chuck to a strip club, while your wife and I go and relax? That is so not going to happen Gabriel."

Sirella was sitting there chuckling quietly to herself. She was about to say something but Carina beat her to it. "You mean to tell me that you don't want Chuck exposed to women taking their clothes off?" as she was talking Cameron jumped up on the table and began doing a highly sexual dance. "Does the thought of hot, sexy naked women gyrating in front of your man get you all pissed off?" the more descriptive Carina got the sexier Cameron's dance became. Soon the other women in the room were begging Cameron to take her clothes off in very descriptive terms.

Suddenly Liz stood up and threw money on the table and began speaking in a loud voice, "That's it baby shake that ass! That's it honey shake it for me baby! Whoo hooo mamma you're so hot I just wanna melt into you!"

"You see Sarah the female form is much better to look and touch than a man is." Carina said while pointing to Cameron on the table.

Sam not to be out done joined in, "Whoa baby share the wealth! Bring some of the sugar my way!"

Cameron began to lift her top off but was stopped by Sirella's soft yet stern voice, "Carina leave Sarah alone for goodness sakes. You know she plays for the other team. Cameron get off the table now and you Liz, quit encouraging your wife like that. You almost gave Chuck a heart attack."

Sarah turned her head to look in Chucks direction and sure enough he looked he was about to fall off his chair. Casey and Gabriel were just sitting there calmly watching the show.

Carina was now laughing hysterically at what had just happened. She was trying to speak but it was coming out in broken words, "Sarah.. Oh man that.. funny… the look on you…face when Cam started dancing…and Chuck was looking…man too funny!"

"Okay I get it Carina have fun with the straight girl."

"Is that an offer because if it is we wouldn't mind if you came back to our place when we get done here!" Sam added in.

"If you don't want to join them we have a hot tub in our room!" stated Cameron.

By now all the women in the room except Sarah were laughing. Sarah was just shaking her head at her friend's actions. _Leave it to a group of crazy ass women to show me how stupid I was acting._"Ok ladies you made your point. It was unprofessional of me to freak out about Chuck going to a strip club."

"That was our point Sarah. You have come such a long way in getting your humanity back after all you have been through in the past but you have got to be more trusting of Chuck," informed Carina.

"Chuck is not going to leave you no matter what happens. He has seen everything about you when he flashed on your file all those months ago. You need to trust his feelings about you like you do about his ability to do his job," added Liz. As this conversation was taking place Gabriel motioned for Chuck and Casey to follow him as he left the room. When the door closed Gabriel began to speak.

"Sarah is just coming out of her emotional shell. I know she has been more open with her feelings than she ever was before, but she is now at the point of doubting them. We went through the same thing with Carina when she started seeing Sam. That's why I want her to relax today with the girls and you to spend time with me. You guys have not been apart much in the last six months. You need to spend some time apart and this mission will allow that," explained Gabriel.

"I'm going to check up with the analysts and see where they are at. I'm going to have them start pulling the phone records of the two suspects and their cohorts," Casey informed his team mates and departed to find the people he needed to.

"So what are we going to do once we get to the club? Just so you know I don't usually hang out in places like that," Chuck felt the need to tell Gabriel.

"We already knew that little tid bit Chuck. The first thing you need to do is act naturally. We're just going to go in and have some drinks and relax. If our friends show up just follow my lead. Now here's a tip on what to do inside the club. Look into the dancer's eyes not at her body no matter how hard she tries to get you to look at her. Tip the dancers well and stay away from the top shelf drinks. You're used to being in the upper crust of society and acting like them. For this mission you will need to be your old self but with the confidence you have now."

"I understand everything except the looking in the dancer's eyes part."

"If you look in the dancers eyes she tries harder to get you to look at her. It's like this, when you look at the dancer's body as she gyrates on stage she controls the game. The hotter she gets you the more money you toss her way to get her to come back. When you ignore her body and stare into her eyes she will work harder to get your attention. You control the game not her. Plus you won't get all hot and bothered and rip Sarah's clothes off when you get home."

"Who said I won't want Chuck to rip my clothes off when he gets back?" Sarah asked as she stood with her hands on her hips leaning against the door frame. "You two better get going and get some good seats. We're going to check out the French quarter while you guys check out the babes."

"You sure you are alright with me doing this?"

"The girls got me straightened out Chuck, besides it's for the mission. I was worried about some stupid things but after the girls and I had our little chat I feel much better than I did before. I have faith in you, now go and have fun. When you guys have had enough fun pick me up at Carina's hotel. We're going to head there after we get done. Sirella says she has some wine with her she wants me to try."

"Some words of advice on the wine Sarah, only drink a little of it at first until you get used to it," Gabriel said with a shake of his head. _Sirella giving Blood Wine to Sarah, I hope you plan to keep an eye on her._

"Well we better head out Chuck. Ladies we will see you later."

The two couples said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.

Chuck took a look around Brenda's taking in the sights and sounds. Rhythmic dance music was being pumped through the massive sound system and the lights aimed at the stages pulsed along with the beat of the music. There were was a large stage lining the back wall that had a catwalk that extended into the middle of the large room and had chairs on both sides. At either end of the catwalk was a pole that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Both poles were currently being used by a pair of dancers. To the left and right of the catwalk there was a circular stage that was being used by dancers as well. Tables filled in the rest of the floor area of the club. There was a small area that contained semi private booths that were more ornate than the plain tables. Chuck reasoned these were for the big spenders.

So far the Gabriel's plan was working to perfection. The girls were paying them more attention than the other patrons, and Chuck was not as uncomfortable as he would have been if he spent his time looking the dancers up and down. Chuck felt a nudge in his ribs and turned to see his partner motioning to the booths with his head. Webber had just taken his seat flanked on either side by his two henchmen.

The plan Gabriel put into effect worked a little too well. With all the attention being paid to Chuck, several large men were being left out of all the fun. Three men approached Chuck and Gabriel and began speaking.

"Dude" big guy number one began "what are doing taking up all the girls' time. We paid the same as you did to get in here."

"Gentlemen please relax we have no intention to hog all the girls time. We can't help it that these beautiful women would rather dance for a couple of good looking guys instead of you," Gabriel chuckled. Chuck just stared at him like he had lobsters growing out of his ears.

"Listen pretty boy" started thug number two "why don't you two just head on out before we rearrange you face?"

"No need to get violent buddy," Chuck began to rise from his seat to leave "well just go to another table away from the stage. Maybe then you'll have a chance at having them dance for you." He felt a hand on his arm and saw Gabriel shaking his head.

"You must be stupid kid, we want you to leave. This is our club and you're not welcome here."

"We have no intention of leaving. Which one of you ladies is Brenda?" asked Gabe.

"Fuck you prick" big guy number said and threw a punch at Gabriel. Being sober and much quicker than the goon Gabriel easily grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it in such a way the man's arm ended up behind his back. Gabriel then forced the man's face into the table.

Goon number two threw a punch at Chuck who easily dodged it by slipping to his right. He followed Gabriel's example by subduing his opponent. The third goon watched his friends get man handled and decided to leave while the getting was good. It was only seconds after the first punch was thrown that the bouncers in the club had surrounded the table. Gabriel held up his hand that was not restraining the first goon and Chuck did the same.

Gabriel addressed the bouncers, "My friend and I apologize for the disturbance gentlemen. We just wanted to come in and see the sights but these men had other ideas."

"Not a problem Sir but I am afraid I will still have to ask you to leave for the evening," said one of the bouncers.

"We were just getting ready to leave anyway," stated Chuck. The two goons were escorted to the back of the club where they would be held until the police arrived to take them away. Gabriel led them out intentionally passing the booth Webber was sitting in. As they passed Webber, a hand reached out and grabbed Gabriel's arm.

"Excuse me but I would like to speak to you about a possible need for your services. They way you put those two down leads me to believe I could use you in my employment. Here is my card; give me a call if you would be interested.

Gabriel looks at the card and turns to Chuck and says, "This looks like our lucky day buddy. We came in here unemployed and now we have a job offer. Mr. Webber, I need to discuss this further with my friend here but you will most likely be hearing from us soon."

"I look forward to hearing from you Mr.?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Webber I'm Bill and this is my long time friend Joe," answered Gabriel. The business with Webber concluded they exited the club. They had only gone about ten feet when a voice called out to them."

"Yo dick heads."

The pair turned to see who was calling them and multiple shots rang out. One struck Chuck in the left shoulder and another hit Gabriel in the right thigh.

"That's for fucking with my friends," the third goon from the club said pointing the gun at the injured pair.

Despite the burning pain in his shoulder Chuck glance instinctually at his partner. Gabriel was on his side clutching his leg with one arm and reaching behind his back with the other. Chuck knew that Gabriel would have trouble getting his weapon out in his current position so he drew his own from the small of his back and fired a shot that hit the goon almost in the center of his chest. The thug dropped instantly to the ground letting his weapon fall to the ground.

"DAMN this hurts! Son of a bitch this hurts, damn," Chuck was screaming through gritted teeth attempting to press on his wound.

"You get used to it," Gabriel grunted out.

"How the fuck do you get used to getting shot? You have got to be out of your mind."

"My being out of my mind is the least of our problems. If my guess is right the police will be here in a couple of minutes. Webber may be watching so be careful when you flash your badge." Gabriel's voice is filled with pain. As soon as the threat was over he sent a command to his nanoprobes to stop healing his wound. It would be hard to explain how a gunshot wound healed in a matter of minutes.

"This really hurts. Damn it to hell this hurts," grunted Chuck. They were approached by some of the bouncers from the bar carrying a bunch of clean rags. They immediately began putting pressure on both men's wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "We called the police as soon as we heard the gunshots they should be here shortly along with the paramedics."

"Good I hope they have good drugs." groaned Chuck from his back.

Just then they were approached by a few police officers and the paramedics. While several other officers pushed the crowd back the paramedics took over from the bouncers. One of the officers that was not pushing back the crowd started bagging their weapons as evidence and the remaining one started explaining what was going to happen.

"We need to speak to you after we get you patched up in the hospital. We will hold up on charging you until we have all the details of the shooting."

Chuck was now sitting up while being attended to motioned for the officer to come closer so he could whisper to him, "Contact Captain Dennis LeFlure, of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's office, he will be able to vouch for us. But please do it discretely."

"As soon as I get back in the car I'll see if I can contact him. For now you two guys just relax and let the paramedics take care of you."

It was just a few minutes before they were loaded up in the ambulance and on their way to the hospital. While they were being treated the officer that spoke to them paid them a visit. He informed the two agents he had contacted the Captain and they had been cleared and would be free to go as soon as they were released. It was several hours later when they were discharge from the hospital. They were offered a ride back to the hotel after being told by the hospital staff they could not drive while under the influence of the drugs they were given for the pain. They would need to return to the club at a later time to get their car.

"Well Chuck are you ready for this?" asked Gabriel.

"Hell no, Sarah is going to be pissed off at me, and you as well. I should have called her from the hospital," said Chuck while shaking his head.

"We can hope they are loaded when we get to the Carina's room. Sarah did say she was going to try Sirella's special wine."

"Sarah doesn't like to drink that much so she may have a glass but that's all."

"Well we may have a problem then. Are you ready to face the music my man?"

"No time like the present I suppose." Chuck knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. It was several seconds before Carina opened the door and took in the sight in front of her. Chuck was standing there with his left arm in a sling wearing a hospital scrub top. Gabriel was not looking much better leaning on a pair of crutches wearing hospital scrub pants.

"What the heck happened to you two?"

"It's a funny story actually…" began Chuck only to be cut off by Carina.

"Don't tell it to me, Chucky tell it to them," and she turned and pointed to Sirella and Sarah who were sitting on the couch. Both women had fire in their eyes as the two men approached. Sarah's anger quickly turned to concern and panic when she got a good look at Chuck's condition.

"Chuck what happened to you and are you alright?" as she flew off the couch and over to where Chuck was standing. Sirella was right behind Sarah but did not share the same emotions.

"Gabriel can't you ever go out and enjoy a good time without getting hurt?" as she embraced him in a hug. "What happened this time?"

"You're not worried about his being hurt?" asked Sarah while running her hands over Chuck in an attempt to check the extent of his injuries.

"No I'm not. I should have figured that sending the two trouble magnets out together would lead to something like this. You're Chuck and my Gabe could attract trouble in a convent. So boys care to tell us what happened?" Sirella helped Gabe to the couch while Sarah led Chuck to the love seat.

"If you leave out getting shot everything went according to plan."

Gabriel was immediately cut off by Sarah who yelled, "You got shot! And you didn't think to call your wife? Chuck, what were you thinking?"

"Relax Sarah it was a through and through near his shoulder. Except for the pain he will be fine in a few days."

"Yeah but I have a good reason," Chuck answered sheepishly.

"Like I was saying," Gabriel continued stopping Chuck's explanation "we were at the club and made contact with Webber. He offered us jobs and gave us his card. We were involved in a slight altercation in the club. A couple drunks got mad that we were drawing to much attention from the dancers. They attempted to coerce us into leaving so we subdued them and left. One of the guy's friends was waiting for us outside and took some pot shots at use. Chuck got hit in the shoulder and I took one in the thigh."

"Sarah it's been a long day for all of us. I think that we should all get some sleep and meet at our hotel in the morning. I'll call Doc and have him here by morning so he can fix Chuck up. Our two men have had a tough night and can use the rest," suggested Sirella.

Sarah's ire began to subside as the story unfolded and began to turn into concern for Chucks well being. "What do you mean fix Chuck up? He's already been to the hospital and gotten treatment."

"Sarah you guys already know we're from the future, don't you think medicine has keep up with the rest of the technology we have shown you?"

"Call us in the morning after the Doc arrives and we can set up a time to meet, Chucks not looking very good right now," said a relieved Sarah.

"Of course I'm not looking to good I just got shot!" was Chuck's reply, "Sorry honey I didn't mean to snap at you."

"Come on Chuck let's get you back to the hotel and in bed." And with that the couple left.

**END PART 1**


	15. Chapter 16

**AN: Long time in coming i suppose. i will be working on this as well as my other one. same disclaimers apply.**

New Orleans Part 2

Once they were comfortably seated in the rental car Sarah began to question Chuck some more on what happened at the club. "I got the Reader's Digest version of what happened now I want to know everything that happened."

"There's not much more to tell. Everything was going well until we left the club then all hell broke loose. Right after we left the club we heard someone call out. We turned around and saw the third guy from the group. He started firing wildly in our general direction. I got hit and so did Gabriel. Gabe was in no position to fire back so I drew my weapon and returned fire. I think I hit him center mass but I'm not sure it happened so fast," Chuck draws a deep breath and winces from the pain and continues on.

"I didn't want to blow our cover by flashing badges with Webber so close so I asked the officer in charge of the scene to call the Captain. When we got finished being treated they returned our side arms and released us. They gave us a ride to where you were and the rest is history."

"That was good thinking on your part to keep your cover intact. You are really getting good at the spy game Chuck. Now how are you really feeling?"

"Fine I guess, my shoulder is killing me but the pain pills help. Doctor says I'll be good as new in a couple months. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Doc in the morning."

"Well if what they were hinting at is true you should be ok by days end."

"I hope so," Chuck sighed. "Great we're here; I can't wait to go to sleep. This getting shot is for the birds."

"You don't need to tell me that, remember spy here," quipped Sarah. A short time later the couple was back in their room and sleeping peacefully.

Chuck woke up early the next day from the intense pain in his shoulder and he tried to muffle his painful groan but his attempt failed. Sarah not quite awake yet heard the groan and sat bolt upright causing her to hit Chucks shoulder on the way up.

"DAMNNN" Chuck hissed thorough clenched teeth. "That hurt!"

"I'm so sorry Chuck I didn't mean to whack your shoulder!" Sarah said as she quickly moved away from Chuck. "Let me get the pain pills the doc gave you at the hospital." She quickly left the bed and headed to the living area to retrieve the pills and a glass of water.

"Sarah it's fine really, there's nothing to be sorry for." Chuck hollered to her from the bed. He got up and headed to the bath room to perform his morning routine. When he finished he found Sarah sitting on the side of the bed with his pills and a glass of water. He took the pills and downed them with the water.

"I'm finished in the bath room so why don't you get cleaned up and we can head to Gabriel's place. I am so looking forward to having the doc look at my shoulder. These pills take forever to work and don't do much for the pain."

"Just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be ready." It didn't take long for Sarah to finish in the bathroom, get dressed and return to Chuck. They phoned Gabriel as they were leaving the hotel to let him know they were on their way.

The couple arrived at the hotel and headed straight to Gabriel's room. They were greeted by Gabriel, who was now walking without any signs he was shot less than twenty four hours before hand. "Come on in Chuck and let the Doc have a look at you. In a couple minutes you'll be good as new."

"This I have got to see to believe," stated Sarah.

"Well then my dear you are in for a treat!" said the Doc with a smug look on his face. He walked over to the table and picked up a strange looking electronic device. He made a few minor adjustments to it and returned to where Chuck and Sarah were standing.

"Chuck will you please remove your shirt so I can get a good look at you?" Chuck quickly stripped off his shirt and the Doc removed the bandages covering his wound. The doc waved the device over Chucks injured area and frowned at the readings. He went back to the table and returned with two more electronic devices.

"Doc what's that device you just waved all over me?" asked Chuck. His true nerd self once again coming to the forefront.

"The first instrument I used was a medical tricorder, it allows me to scan a person's body and detect any injuries, illnesses or disease they may have. These two are what I am going to use to fix you up. The first is a muscular regenerator and the second is a dermal regenerator. Now sit back and let me do my work."

Chuck relaxed and eased back in his chair as the Doc began his work. As the device was moved around his shoulder Chuck began to feel a strange sensation in the area of his gunshot wound. The intense pain he had been feeling began to lessen and was replaced by an intense itchy feeling like when you have a cut that begins to heal. The Doc placed the instrument on the table and picked up the other one and began the same motions over the area. To Chuck's amazement the pain and itchy feeling had vanished and there was no scar where the bullet had entered, but the stitches were still there.

"Nice work Doc," said Chuck in an amazed voice "But when do you take out the stitches?"

"In a hurry are we? I just need to get my scissors and I'll take them out. You need to remember I'm not used to working with such antiquated medical practices."

Sarah was watching the entire procedure with wide eyes. She could not believe what she was seeing; she had never seen anything like it before. Chucks wound was healing itself right before her eyes. The swelling and bruising around the wound was going down and fading as if it was never there. When the Doc finished up with the dermal regenerator; the only evidence that chuck had been shot were the stitches that still remained. There was not even a scar were the bullet had entered and exited.

"Ok Chuck your all set. You'll need about a day for the stiffness to go away but after that you will be good as new."

Chuck stood up and began moving his now healed arm around in circles, then over his head testing for range of motion. He was amazed that he only had a little stiffness but no pain. Chuck got dressed and joined the rest of the team for breakfast.

"During the day today I plan on calling Webber to set up a meeting with him. If all goes well we could be working for him by the end of the week. I want us to work solo on this mission so you ladies will be on the sidelines for this. The fewer people he comes in contact with the better it will be when the deal goes down."

"As long as you don't get Chuck shot again I'm ok with it." Sarah said as she turned and looked pointedly at Chuck. "And you better do your best to avoid getting shot, hurt or injured in anyway."

"Sarah, you're asking a lot of Chuck. He's going to be working with Gabe on this one so you better get ready to see lots of broken bones, major cuts and big bruises. Good thing is Doc will be here to patch them up," Sirella added on.

"So that's what you meant by you get used to it," stated Chuck. Gabriel just shrugged his shoulders.

"We're done here for the day and possibly the next couple as well. Casey is working on the leads we have with the FBI and I'll be working on getting the meetings set up with Webber. There really isn't anything for the rest of you to do. Chuck you should take Sarah out tonight and relax. I recommend a trip on the Natchez Riverboat, Sirella and I did it once during some down time. You can board starting at six; we recommend the jazz and dinner package," suggested Gabriel.

"While you're at you can make a day out of it and tour the riverfront, take in the aquarium and Woldenberg Park," added Sirella.

"That sounds like a great idea. We might as well take advantage of the down time and see the sights while we can," Chuck replied.

Chuck and Sarah went down to the French Quarter and took in the sights that Sirella had suggested. It was a rare occasion for the couple to be able to just walk around as themselves. Even when in the residence they still had to pretend to be something they weren't, filthy rich. Here in New Orleans they could just be themselves, Chuck and Sarah. They began their day at the Aquarium for the Americas fully intending to just relax and enjoy each other's company, away from the prying eyes that often followed their every move.

The first thing the couple decided to check out was the Caribbean Reef through the amazing underwater tunnel that traversed the length of the reef. They enjoyed watching the Moray eels, Cownose rays, angelfish and many of the other exotic sea creatures as they swam close to and around the glass tunnel they were walking through. The highlight for both Chuck and Sarah was they got to enjoy the Caribbean Reef show that featured a diver who hand-fed the rays and interacted with the crowd through the window.

From there the couple went to see the four hundred thousand gallon Gulf of Mexico aquarium that housed a vast amount of sea life found in the Gulf. There were Sharks, eels, stingrays and a rare green sea turtle. They also partook in the animal feeding session where Sarah got to feed some of the rays. As the time to leave drew near Sarah insisted that they visit the colony of penguins. Sarah was thoroughly amused at the antics of the penguins as they hopped and dove into the water. In all the time that they had actually been together this was the most fun they were able to have.

The next stop on their outing was Woldenberg Park. They took a short stroll on the river walk taking in some of the statues there were located at various locations around the park. The couple took a seat on one of the many benches along the walk and decided to people watch. It was at times like these that Chuck could fully appreciate why he along with his wife do what they do. People were walking along the river, laughing and joking without a care in the world. These people were blissfully unaware that there were forces at work that threatened not only the security of the country they live in but also the world. It helped Chuck put in perspective just how big a job lay ahead of them. As it approached six o'clock the couple made their way to the boarding area for the Natchez River Boat.

As they approached to river boat they could see the three decks slowly come into view.

The first two decks had a walk way around them and the upper most deck was mostly open with deck chairs and couches.

"This has been the most relaxing day we have had in a long time, Chuck," Sarah said as they stared up the walkway to the ship.

"Maybe I should get shot more often?" quipped Chuck.

"Not if you know what's good for you."

"Yeah it's a tough choice, the pain from getting shot or you shooting me for getting shot."

"Chuck, I'd never shoot you, make you sleep in the guest room, but never shoot you."

"Well that would be just as painful for me but you as well."

"Change of subject, what did Sirella recommend for dinner?" asked Sarah as they continued towards the Natchez Riverboat.

"Well they're both carnivores so she recommended the Chefs carving station where they have several choices of meats. She also said they have a great garden salad with chucks of real blue cheese. But I'll wait till I see the rest of the menu."

"According to Gabriel the Natchez is the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River. He's not sure what you get to see on the cruise but he did say it was a fun time. Better yet they both said the food is excellent."

"I'm sensing a trend here Sarah, do you want to eat first and then lounge on the deck or relax first then eat?"

"Ya got me on that one. They start serving at seven and it's almost that now, so we should eat first then we can stroll around the upper deck. After a while we can pick out a bench and relax for the rest of the cruise."

"Sounds good let's go eat." They made their way into the large dining room where they were greeted by a hostess and shown to their seats. They were given a table next to one of the many large windows located along each wall. The garnet and grey carpeting was offset nicely against the white walls. Most of the tables were set against the walls allowing the guest a perfect view of the coastline. The ceiling was raised in the middle. Several large chandeliers were running down the center of the ceiling providing the lighting for the large room. There was a small area set off to one side that had a five person jazz band playing soft melodic music.

They both began their meals with the garden salad. Sarah's choice for dinner was the Chicken Toulouse; tender chicken breasts slow cooked in a reduction of white wine, shallots and finished with fresh Rosemary. Chuck chose the Catfish Creole. Catfish topped and smothered with a Creole tomato court-bouillon sauce served over a bed of yellow rice. They topped off their meals with coffee and the Natchez signature desert, Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownies. A blend of the famous Ghirardelli dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate in a brownie that melted in their mouths as they ate it. After they finished with their meals they stayed in the dining area and listened to the sounds of the smooth jazz that seemed to envelope them in a comfy cocoon of warmth.

They departed the dining area and went to the upper deck of the ship. They walked around holding each other's hands, secure in the fact that the only mission they had to worry about was enjoying the relaxed atmosphere on the Natchez. Seeing an open bench at the front of the ship they sat down side by side making sure their bodies were touching, hands still interlaced. When the cruise was over they exited the Natchez and tried to flag down a cab to take them back to the hotel. They were approached by a jackass drawn carriage.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael?" asked the driver. "I'm your ride to the hotel. We got a call earlier from the Natchez requesting our presence. It seems your husband is quite the romantic."

"Chuck, you did all this for me? You are the best!" she said as she hugged him tightly.

"I saw an ad for carriage rides and thought it might be a romantic idea. I didn't however expect an ass drawn one?" he said with a mild annoyance in his voice.

"You're in lousanna young man it's hot down here and the horses can't take the heat so we use jackasses instead."

"Well Sarah our chariot awaits" as Chuck and the driver helped Sarah into the waiting carriage.

**Fulcrum base New Orleans**

"How are the plans coming along? If we can pull this off it will result in a major influx of cash we desperately need" asked agent one.

"Very good so far. Our barge, the Van Horn, is scheduled to arrive in a week. It's carrying a legitimate cargo of steel so the Coast Guard will leave it alone. We loaded our special cargo once it was at sea. The explosives are ready to go. Our scientists figure anything within an eighth of a mile of the blast will be destroyed. When it gets to the Leeville Bridge's center support it will go off. With the main support of the bridge out, the middle section will fall like a house of cards" explained agent two.

"Excellent! Have we figured out the impact of not having the bridge?"

"I'll give you a quick lesson on the bridge, its one way in and the same way out. If you cut off the way in it will make the second part of the plan go even better. But I got ahead of myself. Leeville Bridge connects the mainland to Port Fourchon, Louisiana's southernmost port on the southern tip of Lafourche Parish, on the Gulf of Mexico. It's a sea port that handles significant petroleum industry traffic from offshore Gulf oil platforms and drilling rigs. Port Fourchon is the main hub for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port pipeline. It currently services over ninety percent of the Gulf's deepwater oil production. There are over 600 oil platforms within a 40-mile radius of Port Fourchon. The area furnishes 18 to 20 percent of the US oil supply." Then agent two takes a break to get some water before continuing.

"We need the bridge out of the way for the second half of the plan to work. Once our barge explodes and takes down the bridge we figure the Government will react like it normally does. They will stop all shipping coming into US ports for at least a week, possibly more. We have agents in place that will leak information about more hazardous ships that could be on the way. They will concentrate their efforts on shipping and put other concerns to the back burner. We have three zealots who will crash explosive laden Cessna's into the pumping stations on Port Fourchon. The fires that erupt from the explosion will spread with the crude as it pours out of the damaged supply lines causing more pipes to rupture and burn. With the bridge out of the way additional equipment will not be able to get to the scene, effectively creating chaos. We will have effectively cut off twenty percent of the oil supply to the US. Our partner will be able to increase production on his foreign wells and ship the oil here."

"What if the fires don't go as planned?" Questions Fulcrum agent one

"That's the beauty of it. It doesn't have to. If we severely damage the pumping stations they will have to be shut down until the parts can be shipped in. With the main road out and shipping lanes at a standstill, we still win. It will take months to clean up and repair the damage."

"Then we can point out to the American people that the security agencies they have in place now can't protect them like we can. It will be a political nightmare for the President and his people. They will have no other choice but to bring us into the fold as a legitimate security agency." The second Fulcrum agent concludes, giving his partner a knowing nod of acceptance.

**Gabriel's hotel the next day**

"It looks like Chuck and I will be going to work for Webber at the start of next week. He wants us to replace his two body guards" stated Gabriel as he turned to look at Casey. "You'll need to keep an eye on those two guys, from what Chuck said about one of them being an explosives expert they could be planning something in the future. We need to figure out what that might be. As of now we have nothing to go on."

"Gabriel I agree with you, the FBI can't find anything even remotely real on the radar. I still think where down here chasing our tails" stated Casey with a slight grunt.

The team spent the few days going over any and all information they had but were still coming up empty. One week had passed since Chuck and Sarah's day of relaxation and the couple was lounging around the hotel room enjoying each other's company when Chuck jumped up off the couch and began pacing the room.

"Babe what's wrong?" concern lacing Sarah's voice.

"It's the oil! They are after the oil in the Gulf!"

"What makes you think that?"

"It all Makes sense now, Sarah. The country runs on oil from both foreign and domestic sources. New Orleans is pretty close to the heart of the Gulf oil traffic. Maybe they plan to attack some of the wells in the Gulf? If they could damage or destroy some of them not only would they be forced to shut down but the resulting spills could devastate the economy in the Gulf region. We have got to get Beckman on the line and have her increase the Coast Guard presence in the region."

They quickly made plans to meet in the secure room at the FBI building and informed Beckman of Chucks theory. Beckman was on the phone in the blink of an eye alerting the Coast Guard of the possible threat to the oil rigs in the Gulf.

**Same time on board the Van Horn**

"Are the sensors in position and ready to go?" asked the lead agent on board.

"You bet your ass they are. We set them exactly as we were told. The two outer ones are the center to center distance of the bridge supports and the center sensor is in the middle. Once the outer sensors _see _the bridge supports and the center one_ sees_ the space in between the supports the explosives will go off. Besides the main batch of explosives in the hull two on the outer edge were designed similar to a shape charge. The amount of super heated metal crashing into the supports will weaken them and the main blast seconds later will finish the job" explained the rogue weapons expert.

"Good, we have five minutes till we get off this piece of shit. Is the extraction boat ready?" questioned the lead agent.

"Were good as well Sir. The rafts are lowered and ready to go. It's four minutes to go time; I suggest we get the hell out of Dodge." The crew made their way to the deck of the barge and lowered themselves into the waiting rafts and headed in the opposite direction of the barge.

Five minutes later the quiet night was shattered as the first of the explosions took place. The massive shape charges exploded within the hull of the ship focused on the supports on the Leeville Bridge. Tons of super heated metal slammed into the concrete columns with such force that the columns shattered on impact, huge chucks of concrete flying in all directions. For a split second the unsuspecting drivers on the roadway above it felt like an earthquake had suddenly occurred. Less than two seconds later the more massive explosion took place. Enormous pieces of the barge were hurled in every direction possible, many of them hitting the already weakened supports. The cargo of the barge, iron ore pelted the supports with unrelenting vengeance of a huge sand blaster tearing more chucks of concrete off the columns. A massive wall of water spread outward from the explosion, as if a giant rock and been dropped into the river. Windows over two miles away were shattered and the sound could be heard even farther away.

The second explosion sent what few cars were on the road above it careening across the road in whatever direction they were headed, several flipped over and a few crashed into the retaining wall and flipped over the edge falling into the river below. In the moments that followed the explosion those drivers and passengers that could began to help anyone they could.

Below the road the barge began its death keel, taking on water from its mostly destroyed hull and sinking into the river. The columns themselves started their own dance of death. For the first couple of minutes they held firm, trying to deny the inevitable. Then they began to bend and twist, like a giant oak straining against the winds of a hurricane. The down river column gave way first, its base almost completely knocked away from the explosions. The column crashed down on itself, the two uneven edges meeting in a perverse marriage of mismatched edges, momentarily slowing its descent. Then the weight became too much for the mismatched edges to hold and the column continued its downward movement. Pieces of the rebar inside the columns snapped and bent like twigs under a camper's foot.

The second column now bearing most of the weight from the roadway above gave way and followed its brother into the river. The motorist on the roadway they could feel the tremors as the columns below gave way. It seemed like aftershocks from the earthquake until the roadway in front of or behind them began to slope downward where the supports, it didn't take long before the people realized that something more significant than an earthquake was taking place. Within minutes the roadway was a mass of twisting metal and flying roadway, seconds after that the sections attached to the columns gave way and the road spit open and tilted downward in the direction of the river and ground below. Cars and people quickly followed and the only people to survive were the ones lucky enough to be on the section of road that was unaffected by the collapse.

Several hours later 3 Cessna's came flying in over the area. They hugged the water as best they could. Due to all the other air craft in the area, sending news footage to the various networks across the country they went unnoticed. At the last second the three planes crashed into the refinery on Port Fourchon. The initial explosions sent flames high into the sky. The oil that was being refined began to spread. Soon a good portion of the refineries were nothing more than flames.

It would be days or even weeks before the damage could be truly felt. One thing was for sure, fifty percent of the oil refining capability of the Gulf was now engulfed in flames. With no way to get firefighting equipment there by land it could possibly take months to extinguish the raging fires.


End file.
